- ‘The Birds and the Bees’ and more in C Magazine
Reviewing exhibitions for the quarterly art magazine circuit is an exercise in deferred pleasure, but it’s well worth the surprise of having a freshly printed issue materialize in your mailbox as a friendly reminder that yes, you did write something a few months ago, didn’t you? Not to mention, new magazine smell.
The most recent issue […]
- The 2011 Sobey Art Award Shortlist
Last week I attempted to make up for the lack of my usual region-by-region breakdown of the Sobey Art Award Long List by taking a closer look at the Ontario Long List currently on show at Oakville Galleries Centennial Square and Gairloch Gardens. The confluence of those five Ontario-based artists revealed a taut commonality of […]
- Trending the 2011 Sobey Ontario Long List
The viewer’s subjective experience accounts for a lot more in art criticism than I think most art writers would be willing to admit. Experiences as varied as the weather outside or the latest article rattling around inside one’s head has impacted my viewing of countless exhibitions over the years. While many of these involuntary associations […]
- James North Art Crawl: May
Because this month’s Art Crawl review is longer than most, I won’t go on at length with any preamble except to say that something really peaked this time around - not only in the number of venues to take in, but also in the overall quality of work to be enjoyed. As ever, discussing it […]
- Loving the KWAG
First things first for my Canadian audience - if you haven’t yet done so, get your ass away from your computer and VOTE. Seriously, if you read this before you’ve voted you’ll make the ghost of Sir John A. MacDonald sob into his scotch. And if you really care about art, don’t vote Conservative but […]
- Michael Allgoewer at b contemporary
The same night I was milling around the reception for Paul Cvetich’s exhibition at transit Gallery, word was circulating about the concurrent opening of b contemporary, a new gallery on James Street North. Whether by choice or circumstance, former transit gallerist David Brace had kept news of this first reception fairly quiet - b contemporary’s […]
- Paul Cvetich at transit Gallery
The visual pleasure that pervades Paul Cvetich’s Ichikupark at transit Gallery is both immediate and fully justified after slower consideration. While the many individual sculptures produce a cacophonous effect from a distance, the writhing shapes of each work slow the eye down when one stops long enough to take in the show one piece at […]
- Prelude to Paul Cvetich
Due in part to writing obligations elsewhere, I’ve been remiss lately in reviewing exhibitions on this blog apart from my drive-by commentary on the monthly Art Crawl here in Hamilton. I’m therefore looking forward to restoring the critical balance around here by bringing in two reviews of exhibitions that opened this past Friday: Paul Cvetich […]
- Elizabeth Bradford Holbrook friezes spared demolition
The local media has been quiet lately around the fate of Elizabeth Bradford Holbrook’s sculptural friezes on the ill-fated Federal Building in downtown Hamilton. From an immediate furore around their pending destruction at the hands of current owners Vrancor Group to eleventh-hour scrambles to block any demolition with a Heritage designation, this story received considerable […]
- Meryl McMaster at MacLaren Art Gallery
Since some of my dearest friends now live and work in the environs of Barrie, Ontario, I tend to take advantage of that long-ish drive up the 400 to stop at the MacLaren Art Gallery during my visits. It’s the sort of regional space that deserves wider recognition for both its strong programming of contemporary […]
