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
Performa 2011: Live Wires
Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin and recent Banff Centre resident Ragnar Kjartansson were among the big highlights of this month’s Performa biennial in New York. David Balzer reviews, finding a performance-art festival that’s as vast as the city hosting it.
Lisa Yuskavage, Neo Rauch and Michaël Borremans: Taking Painting’s Temperature
Recently, for a few days in New York, exhibitions of Lisa Yuskavage, Neo Rauch and Michaël Borremans coincided. Here, David Balzer discusses their fevered explorations of figure and landscape in contemporary painting.
Prospect.2: Mardi Gras Masterpiece
New Orleans’ Prospect.2 biennial was founded to revitalize the city, and despite budget overruns and a recently resigned artistic director, reviewer Nancy Tousley finds that its artwork still shines brightly. Read on for her highlights of the event.
Willem de Kooning: Embodying the City
For David Balzer, the Willem de Kooning exhibition now on at New York’s Museum of Modern Art confirms that his art embodies the spirit of the city just as well as it ever did. In it, graffiti’s echoes meet architectural bravado and large-scale views.
Micah Lexier: The Art of Choosing
It’s often said that art-making is about making choices—what medium to use, what scale to deploy, what iconography to draw on. Here, Sarah Milroy reviews Micah Lexier’s current Toronto show, detailing the many decisions made along the way.
Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries: There Are No Problems in Art
The gentrification of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside—and local curatorial strategies of addressing it—recently provided conceptual and satirical fodder for Seoul art duo Young Hae-Chang Heavy Industries. Here, Tess Edmonson reviews some of the resulting works.
Surreal: Inuit Game Changer
For Vancouver journalist Hadani Ditmars, “Surreal: Eight Artists in the Fantastical Tradition” prompts a different perception of Inuit art, and even a changed worldview. After seeing it, familiar urban landscapes can seem to shape-shift.
On the Nature of Things: So Much to See
Culture constructing ideas of nature is a common theme in contemporary art, but a new show in Kamloops, curated by Patrik Andersson, is taking it to the next level. Vancouver critic Robin Laurence reviews, finding a captivating mix of artists young and old.
La Carte d’Après Nature: A Curator is Born
One of the most talked-about shows in New York this season was Thomas Demand’s Magritte-inspired curatorial project at Matthew Marks Gallery. David Balzer reviews, finding Canadian connections and impressive works along the way.
No Comment: Occupying Wall Street with Art
In this slideshow, assistant editor David Balzer reports on “No Comment,” an intriguing group show held near the New York Stock Exchange last week. Though the exhibition grew out of Occupy Wall Street, its visuals verged into Thomas Hirschhorn.