The Kingston Prize is back! The national biannual prize for portrait painting, which I wrote about back in 2011 HERE, is again accepting submissions from artists. Michael Bayne, Kingston Ontario, Orange Grandma, oil on wood panel, 15 x 10 cm. Winner of The Kingston Prize 2011. Image: kingstonprize.ca The $20,000 prize is awarded to a painting of a specific Canadian
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I visited the annual exhibition of five finalists in Canada’s $50,000 Sobey Art Prize today, which is about to open at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art on Oct 24th and will continue to December 30th. (A launch party will be held on October 27 from 8-10pm.) As always, one artist has been shortlisted from each of Canada’s regions: West Coast/Yukon; Prairies and
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Micheal Laverty writes about his soon-to-be-published satirical first novel, about a “21st century troupe of court jesters – a collective of artists dubbed Apollo’s Army.” Micheal Laverty graduated with an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Windsor and completed the School for Writers program at Humber College. His writing has appeared in various journals including The Fiddlehead and
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Kathleen Bartels vs. Bob Rennie: Both right. By Robert Labossiere It is further evidence of the increased public awareness and popularity of the visual arts that the Globe and Mail should publish a cover feature story this past weekend about the effort to get a new building for the Vancouver Art Gallery (The Collector’s Gamble, G & M, August 11,
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“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.“ – Marcel Proust Today, I swung by Feheley Fine Arts gorgeous new gallery at 65 George Street, where ADAC (the Art Dealers Association of Canada) was hosting a lunch in honour of the upcoming exhibition Oh, Canada that will open at Mass MoCA on
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It’s better late than never for some highlights from this year’s Venice Biennale. Flying into Venice. All photos: VoCA Having been to several Venice Biennales in my life, I almost always prefer the pavilions where the artist addresses the architecture of the pavilions in which the art is housed. The first Biennale was held in 1895 and there are only
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As the summer gallery season gets underway, here are my picks for the country’s best blockbuster exhibitions: THE COLOUR OF MY DREAMS: THE SURREALIST REVOLUTION IN ART Vancouver Art Gallery Through September 25, 2011 Man Ray, close up of The Kiss, 1930. Image: ultraorange.net The VAG has organized the most comprehensive survey of Surrealist art ever to be shown in
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The other day I found a number of old Canadian Art magazines on sale for $2 each. I bought them, and found this questionnaire in the April 1966 issue. It’s interesting, reading over the questions how some remain relevant today and others, not so much… My vintage copies of Canadian Art. Image: VoCA On the following page were answers to
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It’s been over one week since Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was arrested by the Chinese government at Beijing airport. He has not been heard from since and the government is accusing him of ‘economic crimes’. Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. Image: lamonodigital.net Where is he? And why aren’t Canadians demanding to know? Ai Weiwei is best known for his installation Sunflower
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I was fascinated by yesterday’s Slutwalk that took place in Toronto, and sorry that I wasn’t able to attend. Slutwalk in Toronto yesterday. Image: scathinglywrongrightwingnutz.com The walk attracted around 1,000 people and was arranged in part as a protest against comments by police Constable Michael Sanguninetti who, while speaking to students at York Unviersity, said “Women should avoid dressing like
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Andrea Carson writes on contemporary art, architecture and design...