The Little Blue Cabin That Could
Against the backdrop of skyrocketing real estate prices, a group of Vancouverites mobilizes to save a small fragment of local art history from destruction
A Soldier Turned Photographer Remembers War
Philip Cheung joined the military at 16, and soon embarked on a NATO mission. He knew he had begun a career—but he didn't realize it was as a photographer.
Passing Through
Grafton Tyler Brown was a painter whose identity changed from Black to white as he moved across the Pacific Northwest.
Tasting Fear in the Salt-Brined Sculptures of Elvira Finnigan
In the wake of 9/11, Finnigan began experimenting with crystallization to preserve community and acknowledge loss.
Hajra Waheed Traces a Rising Tide in Venice
In the middle of the Central Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, Montreal artist Hajra Waheed has built another world—and marked a return to painting.
Evan Penny Enters His Next Phase—In Venice
The Toronto artist’s uncanny figurative sculpture heads into new territory in his Venice showing: the art-historical past.
Petra Collins, Homecoming Queen
The Toronto-born artist has shown installations at the MoMA and been featured in Vanity Fair, but just opened her first Canadian solo show last weekend.
The Life That Georgia O’Keeffe Built
The famed American painter could create a world just as well as she could capture one. A new exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario shows how.
What Canada’s Art World Could Learn from the Whitney Biennial
Could Canada ever produce an exhibition like the Whitney Biennial? A look at this year's edition generates envy—and five strategies worth taking north.
5 Ways to Succeed as an Art Dealer in a Smaller City
It's difficult to operate a commercial gallery anywhere in Canada, and many challenges are larger in smaller markets—here’s what some gallerists are doing.
Kent Monkman: History Painting for a Colonized Canada
Kent Monkman knew that, for Canada 150, he had to speak directly to the colonial, genocidal policies that have marked the country’s history.
Art in 2016: A Year of Failing to Understand Others
This year, art by Ana Mendieta, Emily Mast and Deanna Bowen underlined that it is difficult to know someone else entirely—or even just a little.
Little but Luxe: 5 Remarkable Boxwood Carvings
An AGO show highlights incredibly detailed boxwood carvings made all the more fascinating by their illustrious owners, from Henry VIII to Baron Rothschild.
In the Studio with Tau Lewis
Self-taught Toronto sculptor Tau Lewis talks about her representations of black identity, which redress the dissociation between black bodies and nature.
There’s Magic in the Wilderness
Inside the transformative world of Montreal artist Vicky Sabourin, whose installations keep her audience guessing.
On Inventing Women Artists in a Post-Truth Era
I want Sophie La Rosière to be real. Her biography and art seem real enough. And inventing a woman artist could, in some lights, constitute a feminist act.
Agnes Martin, Style Muse
Agnes Martin, poster child for spartan living, finds a following in the fashion world. But what does it mean to make a creative recluse into a style muse?
Is the Still Life Still Alive?
A recent artist residency at the Banff Centre questioned the status of the still-life genre. Caoimhe Morgan-Feir reports.
Yayoi Kusama Comes to Canada
The famed immersive installations of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama will be travelling to Toronto in 2018.
Calgary Galleries Collaborate on Cross-City Landscape Show
Calgary’s newest institutional curator looks to push local audiences beyond their comfort zones with a contemporary take on the classic landscape genre.
Does the 21st-Century Museum Include Gender-Neutral Washrooms?
With art institutions across the country undergoing construction and renovation, is accessibility being considered on a structural level?
The 250-Year-Old Story of a Woman Who Got Paid
Vigée Le Brun, the subject of a summer retrospective at the National Gallery of Canada, is art history’s unsung entrepreneur.
I Want to Be Instagram Famous, and Elena Soboleva Wants to Help Me
The quest for art fame on Instagram can be elusive, so we got Artsy curator (and avid Instagram user) Elena Soboleva to give us her best art-selfie tips.
Is a New Show about Picasso’s Muses Sexist?
“Picasso: The Artist and His Muses” is the most significant exhibition of Picasso’s work ever presented in Vancouver, but is the framing inescapably sexist?
Inside Marvin Luvualu Antonio’s Lab-Like Studio
Toronto artist Marvin Luvualu Antonio shows us around his studio, which often functions as an incubator for the ideas behind his multimedia installations.
I Was 3-D Scanned by Douglas Coupland. Now I Have the Ultimate Anti-Selfie.
Mall rats, rejoice: Douglas Coupland is travelling around Canada to 3-D print volunteers at Simons stores. Caoimhe Morgan-Feir reports.
Inside Naomi Yasui’s Ceramics Studio
Toronto-based artist Naomi Yasui shows us inside her studio, and relays her most-valued piece advice: that you can’t be afraid of making bad work.
New ROM Director: Art as Well as Dinosaurs
The Royal Ontario Museum is not known as an art-focused organization, but this is poised to change with new director Josh Basseches.
Kapwani Kiwanga: The Canadian Artist Who Stole the Armory Show
You might not have heard of artist Kapwani Kiwanga yet, but the rest of the world has.
Vancouver Gallery Puts Artists on Cargo Ships
Access Gallery has sent three artists on an unusual residency: travelling across the Pacific Ocean for 23 days from Vancouver to Shanghai in cargo ships.
An Artist’s Ritual Bath for Trans and Queer Communities
A Toronto performance by Radiodress (aka Reena Katz) expands the Jewish tradition of mikvah by offering ritual healing baths to queer and trans individuals.
Inside Mary Grisey’s Toronto Studio
Take a look inside Toronto-based artist Mary Grisey's studio, where her intricate textile works are created through weaving, bleaching, burning and more.
The AGO’s New Director Stephan Jost Discusses His Plans
The Art Gallery of Ontario’s new director, Stephan Jost, talks about his priorities for the gallery and his emphasis on audience.
Meet the Power Plant’s New Curator
Carolin Köchling, the newly appointed curator of the Power Plant in Toronto, discusses her institutional experience and curatorial ethos.
Canada Council’s New Funding Model: 5 Knowns and Unknowns
It has been difficult to get a handle on the Canada Council’s new funding model, but here are a few knowns and unknowns worth watching.
Caoimhe Morgan-Feir’s Top 3 of 2015: Yes, All Women
Caoimhe Morgan-Feir’s 2015 art highlights offered a chance for self-reflection and a necessary lesson in writing for the right audience.
The Art Gallery of Alberta: Behind the Recent Headlines
Erroneous reports said that the Art Gallery of Alberta requested emergency funding from City Council. The reality is more optimistic, but also more complex.
Canadian Artists Confront Climate Change at Paris Summit
Last week, Brandalism co-opted 600 advertising spots in Paris to protest commercial interests encroaching on climate talks, and four Canadian artists joined in.
Supercommunity in Saskatoon, Light on the “Community”
The Remai Modern brought together an international group of presenters for the two-day Supercommunity Live conference, but the results were mixed.
Calgary Artists Light Up the Northern Night
Calgary-based artists Caitlind Brown and Wayne Garrett brought their light-installation project to Dawson City with ethereal results.
Abbas Akhavan Discusses Winning the Sobey Award
Toronto-based, Tehran-born artist Abbas Akhavan talks about winning the $50,000 first-place prize at this year’s Sobey Art Award.
JR Reclaims Public Space
Famed street artist JR speaks about his working process, artistic references and wide travels ahead of his project in Toronto’s Scotiabank Nuit Blanche.
The New Vancouver Art Gallery: A Generous Building
Kathleen Bartels and Christine Binswanger discuss Herzog & de Meuron’s design for the Vancouver Art Gallery, funding matters and the public’s reaction.
Collective Groan: Three Summer Shows at the Power Plant
Three summer exhibitions at Toronto's Power Plant by artist collectives simulate conditions of radical artmaking, but ultimately reveal hollow cores.
R.M. Vaughan is Bright Eyed: Insomnia and Art
R.M. Vaughan discusses his new book, which traces the increasing prevalence of insomnia and argues that it is affecting our health and our art.
The Illingworth Kerr Gallery Restructures: Calgary Loses Another Curator
The Alberta College of Art and Design is eliminating the curatorial position at the college's renowned Illingworth Kerr Gallery, to the dismay of many.
The Curious Case of Levine Flexhaug
In mid-century Canada, Levine Flexhaug created hundreds of versions of the same painting. A new exhibition sheds light on his unusual story.
Papier15 Braces for Change
Ahead of Montreal's Papier15, attendees reflect on the event's upcoming changes. Will the fair sustain its reputation for quality and accessibility?
Will Ramsay Discusses the Future of Art Fairs
Will Ramsay, founder of the Affordable Art Fair and Toronto's Love Art, discusses the proliferation of art fairs and their uncertain future.
Jon Sasaki Building Airplane During Glenfiddich Residency
Jon Sasaki plans to build a plane—the Popular Mechanics Woodhopper—this summer during his time in the Glenfiddich Artist-in-Residence Program in Scotland.
Marie Watt Returns to the National Gallery of Canada
Portland-based Seneca artist Marie Watt discusses her multidisciplinary way of working, and using objects that evoke different connotations across borders.
Audain Art Museum Hires Curator Darrin Martens
The Audain Art Museum recently hired Darrin Martens as chief curator. He speaks about his plans for the museum, its unique role and his future programming.
Curating Basquiat: A Conversation with Dieter Buchhart
Ahead of the AGO's exhibition "Jean-Michel Basquiat: Now's the Time," Buchhart discusses evaluating the late artist's work, and resisting his celebrity.
Signs of Self-Reflection
“Sign, sign, everywhere a sign” at the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery and the UTAC takes a surprisingly self-reflexive approach to a collection exhibition.
New Research Profiles Art Collectors
Larry's List has produced the most expansive research project about art collectors to date. We speak to the project's co-founder about his findings.
Vancouver Biennale: Perspectives on Public Art
Barrie Mowatt and Miriam Blume of the Vancouver Biennale talk about the event's unique model, the public's unpredictable reactions and the year ahead.
Jack Bush: Painstakingly Won Painting
Jack Bush was a late-blooming artist. Though his retrospective contains plenty of mediocre work, it offers a generous, rounded portrait of the artist.
Caoimhe Morgan-Feir’s Top 3 of 2014: Time Travels
Caoimhe Morgan-Feir's top picks of 2014 look to the past to bring the present into focus.
