“With their artists competing on an international stage, Canadians can no longer complain of their country as a cultural backwater nor luxuriate in the nostalgic charm of provincialism. In art as in political, social and economic activities, Canada is fully involved in the world of today,” – Dr. R. H. Hubbard, former Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Canada.
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Burning Cold 18 June – 30 August 2009 The Ottawa Art Gallery For a while now VoCA has been interested in the new Inuit art – in fact, we interviewed Inuit art dealer Pat Feheley about it HERE. Feheley speaks eloquently and knowledgeably on the “sea change” that occurred once Cape Dorset artists discovered that they could depict the world
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Paolo Veronese and the Petrobelli Altarpiece 29 MAY – 7 SEPTEMBER 2009 The National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa Paolo Veronese, The Petrobelli Altarpiece (reconstruction). Image: churchtimes.co.uk If you’ve ever wondered about how paintings are restored, there’s a great video on the National Gallery of Canada website where Stephen Gritt, Chief Conservator explains the history of Veronese’s The Dead Christ Supported
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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
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1. META: RYERSON NEW MEDIA GRAD SHOW TORONTO April 16 – 18, 2009 Rose Broadbent, Of Plastic Circumstance. Image: metaart.ca META exhibits the work of 4th Year New Media students from Ryerson University’s School of Image Arts. Of course, there are tons of grad shows this time of year, but this one strikes us as very well produced. Look out
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1. Canada’s $70,000 Sobey Art Award has announced its longlist Stay tuned for the shortlist announcement on May 1. Ilan Sandler, Tactlility, 2005. Image: Ilansandler.com WEST COAST AND YUKON Rhonda Weppler & Trevor Mahovsky; Luanne Martineau; Keith Langergraber;Evan Lee; Julie York PRAIRIES AND THE NORTH Paul Butler; Marcel Dzama; Sarah Anne Johnson; Jon Pylypchuk; AltheaThauberger ONTARIO Shary Boyle; Christian Giroux
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The Canada Prize for the Arts may be the most important thing to happen to the cultural landscape in this country, ever. …And yet many in the arts, especially in Quebec, are crying. Image: osmoothie.com Considering that our country’s visual arts have been viewed as a cultural backwater (probably by ourselves, mainly) ever since the American Armory Show of 1913
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From the New York Times: As Pierre Théberge prepares to end his 11-year tenure as the director of the National Gallery, Canada’s wealthiest art institution is immersed in a controversy that has more in common with television comedies like “The Office” than debates about expenditures on paintings… David Franklin, the deputy director of the National Gallery of Canada. Image: nytimes.com
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1. Prime Minister Stephen Harper ignores the arts. Consequently, art becomes a political issue across the country as Quebec gives Harper the hairy eyeball. 2. The new AGO opens – Frank Gehry’s renovation of Toronto’s Art Gallery of Ontario is deemed an unqualified success, perhaps partly due to the budgetary constraints he was under. It’s simple in material, but opulent
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The search for a new Director and CEO is over. The National Gallery of Canada is proud to announce that Marc Mayer, current Director of the Musée d’art contemporain in Montreal, has been named Director and CEO of the National Gallery of Canada. New National Gallery director Marc Mayer. Image: gallery.ca Born in Sudbury, Ontario Marc Mayer earned a degree
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Andrea Carson writes on contemporary art, architecture and design...