This was a fantastic show. The Pompidou is such a great venue – somehow even the crowds don’t take away from the experience. Having seen the documentary Gerhard Richter: Painting, I was aware of the process that he uses to make the squeegee painting – it involves a lot of thinking and waiting – it was wonderful to see many
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The other week I dropped in to see one of my new favorite galleries, General Hardware Contemporary, in Parkdale. Not only was owner Niki Dracos super friendly, happily accompanying me in my rush around the gallery (I was late for a talk at Art Toronto) but I was really impressed by the work. Paintings by Anahita Rezvani-Rad. All images: VoCA
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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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So I was just in Venice, to see the Biennale. Art-wise, there wasn’t much that really wowed me, so I’ll start with the fantastic newly-restored Olivetti store in Piazza San Marco. Designed by the late, great Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa (one of my favorites) in 1957-58, the space has been turned into a stunning museum space by the city. They
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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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So, Vancouver artist Steven Shearer will represent Canada at this year’s Venice Biennale, which opens June 4 and continues until November 27, 2011. Steven Shearer, Nash, 2005. Image: museomadre.it Torontonians might recall an exhibition of Shearer’s work at the Power Plant in 2007, which I believe was curated by former Power Plant curator Helena Reckitt (now critic/curator in residence at
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I’m happy to report that VoCA is featured in this month’s issue of ELLE Canada. The article on art collecting, subtitled ‘How to turn your living room into un petit Louvre’, is by Katie Addleman. The March issue of ELLE Canada. Image: hotmags.net In the article, she says: “A better bet is to spend on the established by still young:
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VoCA contributor Bill Clarke, a collector of art and artist books (see previous VoCA posts HERE and HERE) has come back once again with a wonderful post in honour of International Women’s Day. Here is his blog post on a number of artist books by women artists that he has in his increasingly envy-inducing collection: Dorothy Iannone: The Story of
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From Winnipeg, VoCA contributor Whitney Light sat down with painter Krisjanis Kaktins-Gorsline to discuss the development of his painting practice, the importance of variation, biological systems and how he keeps it all interesting. Krisjanis Kaktins-Gorsline, Rot Samba, 2009, oil on canvas. All images courtesy the artist. VoCA: What is keeping you busy now? KK: I’m at the start of something
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I recently became aware of two interesting charities in Toronto, both of which use art and artistic practice to encourage people in quite different ways. Interesting, because making art is a great way to get outside of one’s own head and creative expression is an important skill to learn, or re-learn as the case may be. The first charity is
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Andrea Carson writes on contemporary art, architecture and design...