Your Cultural Concierge! VoCA offers critical commentary on the Canadian art scene, with a focus on Toronto. Featuring exhibition previews, critics picks, interviews and in-depth articles on art in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Halifax.
December 7th, 2009 — Articles by Andrea Carson, Toronto and region
Check out my article in the new aggregate news website The Mark News - it’s about why cities, and Toronto in particular, need to develop a culture of excellence. It’s because whether cities are great or mediocre has a significant effect on quality of life for citizens. And cities that pursue excellence end up with a highly developed, sophisticated cultural sector.
Image: downtownwinstonsalem.com
Read the full article HERE.
June 4th, 2009 — Architecture, Articles by Andrea Carson
Going up to Drag Lake, in Haliburton to look at a glass box ‘cottage’ in the middle of the forest. Boat access only!
My profile of the house is coming up in the August issue of Toronto Life magazine…stay tuned
June 4th, 2009 — Architecture, Articles by Andrea Carson
The text I wrote that accompanied architect Paul Raff’s winning submission for the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s Allied Arts Medal has been reproduced in Canadian Architect magazine.
A pavilion by Paul Raff Studio. Image: canadianarchitect.com
June 2nd, 2009 — Articles by Andrea Carson, Books
Doug Wright’s most famous character, Nipper. Image: calgaryherald.com
The graphic artist Seth has designed and co-edited a gorgeous coffee table book on the erstwhile celebrity cartoonist, whose Nipper comic strip became a huge hit across the country in the 1960s.
This book is a wonderful object and a highly entertaining read, even if you’re not into graphic novels, or comics.
Read my review, in Quill and Quire, HERE.
May 19th, 2009 — Articles by Andrea Carson, Calgary and region, Edmonton, Halifax and Eastern Canada, Montreal, Ottawa, Thoughts on art, Toronto and region, Vancouver and region, Winnipeg
How relevant are art schools today? Do artists really require education beyond basic technical training? Do art institutions hinder, rather than help the creative expression of artists today?
Bruce Nauman, The True Artist Helps the World by Revealing Mystic Truths (Window or Wall Sign), 1967.
Image: truthinart.wordpress.com
And what does Bruce Nauman think?
Read my opinion piece on the brand new news website, The Mark.
Click HERE.
May 4th, 2009 — Articles by Andrea Carson, Books
Karen Engle’s book Seeing Ghosts: 9/11 and the Visual Imagination takes an intriguing, and - she argues - much needed look at the artworks and ephemera that surrounded September 11.
Eric Fischl, Tumbling Woman. Image: artnet.com
You probably haven’t given much thought to Eric Fischl’s sculpture Tumbling Woman, which was placed and quickly pulled from Rockefeller Centre when it became clear that a woman in mid-fall wasn’t an appropriate memorial (no closure).
March 19th, 2009 — Art fairs, Articles by Andrea Carson
Check out my article on the Art Expo, Toronto’s “kinder, gentler art fair for tough times” in today’s Globe and Mail - click thumbnail after the jump.
It’s a good place to discover work by artists who may not have gallery representation. Many are from abroad - expect to see work from India, Japan, Israel, Germany and Korea.
A mixed-media work by artist In Hyuck Song. Image: art-zurich.com
To read my article, click the thumbnail twice to enlarge:
January 2nd, 2009 — Articles by Andrea Carson, Painting, Sculpture/Installation, Toronto and region, Upcoming Exhibitions
Here’s my piece on the New York artist Ryan McGinness, who showed his graphic paintings and incredible perspex sculptures - which, we think are a near-perfect marriage of dynamic form, colour and transparency delivered with frothy lightness - at Artcore in Toronto in October. It’s in the current issue of Azure magazine.
Ryan McGinness, In-progress maquettes for sculptures, acrylic on acrylic, 2008. Image: ryanmcginness.com
Click the thumbnails, and click again to enlarge the text:
November 27th, 2008 — Articles by Andrea Carson, Collecting, Painting, Photography, Sculpture/Installation, Toronto and region, Upcoming Exhibitions, Video/New Media
Check out my reviews in the special Toronto section of the December 2008 issue of ARTnews.
Image: artnewsonline.com
Click each thumbnail twice:
Click HERE to go to the ARTnews magazine website.
October 30th, 2008 — Articles by Andrea Carson, Books, Painting, Underrated Canadian Artists
This book is devoted to Canadian women artists from the 19th to mid 20th centuries. It should be necessary reading for anyone who is interested in Canadian history, and/or Canadian art.
Please don’t let the cover design dissuade you! Keep reading!
Independent Sprit, by A.K. Prakash. Image: fireflybooks.com
“It’s tempting to assume that Canadian women artists of the 19th and early 20th centuries were second-rate, given taht the male-dominated canon of art history has portrayed them as such, simply by exclusion. Independent Sprit helps dispel such tendencies. A.K. Prakash, art advisor to the Thomson family, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Canada Council, and UNESCO, among other, argues convincingly - at times reverentially - for the significance of the 36 artists profiled in this revealing four-part compendium…”
Andrea Carson writes on contemporary art, architecture and design...Read full bio