The Disintegration of a Critic
Jill Johnston, Sternberg Press, 224 PP., $25.95
From Margin to Centre, and Back Again
“I sensed a social ecology I had to navigate but did not understand,” says artist Ken Lum of the rules-based art world that surrounded him. “And when I did start to understand it, I was unsympathetic to why this social ecology had to be heeded”
Chris Curreri
Daniel Faria Gallery, Toronto, April 18 to June 1, 2019
Hollywood, Whiteness and the Illusion of Normalcy
Writer Amy Fung draws on the video work of Aleesa Cohene, a story about Alice Cooper and life in LA to reflect on race and visibility
Gay Liberation, Sex Dungeons, Gossip, and What We Want in Art
Writer Amy Fung joins artists Hazel Meyer and Cait McKinney for a deep lez bro down about a project at the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives.
Unwriting the Artist Interview: Nadia Belerique in 3 Acts
When is an artist interview not an artist interview? Amy Fung and Nadia Belerique discuss Elena Ferrante, Anne of Green Gables, and women in art.
Divya Mehra
Artspeak, Vancouver
Catherine Crowston: Partner in Art
Since its 2010 renovation, attendance at the Art Gallery of Alberta has skyrocketed from 22,000 to 111,000. In this article from our summer issue, critic Amy Fung looks at a key player in the AGA’s rise: deputy director Catherine Crowston.
Eleanor Bond
Winnipeg, Plug In ICA
Amy Fung’s Top 3: Prairie Prescience
From Winnipeg to Edmonton—and occasionally well beyond—Alberta critic Amy Fung finds her best of 2010 in a mix of old masters and new buildings. Civics, community and the logistics of travelling shows also pique the interest of this road-warrior reporter.
My City’s Still Breathing: Collective Consciousness
Amy Fung reports on My City’s Still Breathing, a wide-ranging civic arts conference that took place in Winnipeg this past weekend. Highlights included a panel on community-based art, a lecture by John Waters and the opening of the new Plug In ICA.
Sylvia Ziemann: Disaster Dioramas
Post-apocalyptic landscapes and inventive survival solutions come together in “Possible Worlds,” Sylvia Ziemann’s latest exhibition currently on view at the Dunlop Art Gallery. As Amy Fung reports, the Regina artist’s models for imagined future dwellings demonstrate a unique Prairies approach that mixes pessimism and determination.
Ron Terada Conversation: Painting, Pathos and the Pictures Generation
Ron Terada’s latest solo show, currently in Banff, references painting, the image of the artist and Jack Goldstein’s memoirs, among other themes. Talking on-site with critic Amy Fung, Terada expands on art-world anxieties, genre mashups and the difficult ways Canadians view artists.
Brenda Draney: Thanks for the Memories
The 2009 RBC Canadian Painting Competition winner, Brenda Draney, shows new works in a current Edmonton show. As critic Amy Fung observes, Draney’s art continues to evolve a bold, less-is-more approach to the fluid field of human remembrance
Gabriel Coutu-Dumont: Sketches of Synchronicity
Gabriel Coutu-Dumont filtered thousands of globetrotting photos down to a mere 275 for his current touring show. But as critic Amy Fung reports, Coutu-Dumont’s exhibition is at its best when it focuses on the artist’s photographic—rather than curatorial—skills.
Here Now or Nowhere
Curated by the Toronto artist Micah Lexier, “Here Now or Nowhere” took over Grande Prairie, Alberta—a natural resource–based town, population 50,000—during the dark days of winter.
Attila Richard Lukacs & Michael Morris: Polaroid Overload
Attila Richard Lukacs’ extensive archive of Polaroid figure studies offers both creative clues and nostalgic nudges. Yet the design of a related exhibition at the Art Gallery of Alberta, coordinated by Michael Morris, seems to favour overwhelming density over useful insight.