Reviews
On Charles Campbell and the Underrepresentation of Caribbean Art in Canada
The Jamaica-born, Victoria-based artist has shown at the Brooklyn Museum and Pérez Art Museum Miami—but only recently had his first Vancouver solo show
On Charles Campbell and the Underrepresentation of Caribbean Art in Canada
The Jamaica-born, Victoria-based artist has shown at the Brooklyn Museum and Pérez Art Museum Miami—but only recently had his first Vancouver solo show
Adad Hannah
Pierre-François Ouellette art contemporain, Montreal
Barbara Astman
Corkin Gallery, Toronto
Jason de Haan and Miruna Dragan
Khyber Centre for the Arts, Halifax
Steve Bates: On Memory’s Machines
This winter in Montreal, the exhibition “For me the noise of time is not sad” presented two new sound- and video-based works by Steve Bates. In this review, Pablo Rodriguez notes that the works spoke well to the complexities of memory and communication.
Frances Stark: Not Just Idle Chat
Frances Stark’s animation My Best Thing, based on conversations in online sex chatrooms, premiered to acclaim at 2011’s Venice Biennale. Rachel Rosenfield Lafo reviews its current Vancouver showing, finding depth amid the Web’s superficialities.
The “C” Word: Readymades Need Not Apply
The Doris McCarthy Gallery is currently host to an ambitious exhibition on the role of craft in contemporary art. Mariam Nader reviews, finding it refreshing, in an age of conceptually influenced practices, to consider work that emphasizes the visual and physical.
Michel de Broin: Bright Matter
Artist Michel de Broin reconfigures the material world in ways that happily transgress everyday expectations. With his first Toronto commercial show on view, Sarah Milroy mulls over de Broin’s work and its complex, but often comical, effects.
Valérie Blass: Going All Out
Since a breakthrough at the 2008 Quebec Triennial, Valérie Blass’ star has risen quickly, and for good reason. Her current solo show in Montreal continues to demonstrate the evolution of a distinctly humane and witty sculptural intelligence.
Susanna Heller: Catastrophe as Muse
Known for addressing 9/11’s landscapes, Susanna Heller has made catastrophe her muse, and—as critic Sarah Milroy observes of her current Toronto show—she’s made peace with it. Heller’s recent works engage her husband’s bout with a flesh-eating disease.
Yael Bartana: And Europe Will Be Stunned
In 2011, Israeli artist Yael Bartana was the first non-Polish artist ever to represent Poland at the Venice Biennale. The reasons why—like Bartana’s explorations of Jewish history—are on powerful view in Toronto this season. Daniel Baird reviews.