Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
14 August 2018 Vol 3 No 17 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2018
From the Editor
Portia Priegert
If you’re reading this, you will know that I am gone … on holidays, that is.
Gosh, I’ve always wanted to start a story like that, probably because I read too many fanciful books when I was young.
But yes, I’m off work for a week, probably like many of you, and will keep this note short. I still have to pack and there's one last story to write, plus a bunch of other last-minute chores.
This issue has been put together quickly, with the generous cooperation of our writers, so I could spend a week hanging out with old friends on one of my favourite islands in the Salish Sea. Best of all, the laptop is staying at home.
We have a fine story by Toronto writer Murray Whyte about Vancouver-based Rebecca Belmore's powerful work at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Her show will travel to the Remai Modern in Saskatoon early next year.
Lindsey Sharman, who is starting a new job as curator of the Art Gallery of Alberta, writes about another important Indigenous artist, Lori Blondeau, whose retrospective is on view at the University of Saskatchewan.
Agnieszka Matjeko’s story, Building Community, reflects on Hubert Hohn’s photographs of Edmonton houses in the 1970s. This show at the Art Gallery of Alberta really resonated with me. I grew up in houses like the ones Hohn documented, and his images immediately took me back in time.
Meanwhile, Paul Gessell writes about Vancouver-based Fiona Ackerman’s fascinating painting process in Paper Gardens. We also have two other stories from Vancouver. Beverly Cramp writes about Teresa Pocock, an artist with Down syndrome who has just published her second book. And Mark Mushet opens his piece, Art? Or an Apple Fritter? with a priceless line: "Lee Hutzulak’s art is no stranger to unusual settings."
Work on the next issue is well underway. Expect stories on the dreamscapes of Vancouver Island artist Madeleine Wood; landscapes by Kate Mountford that blend photo and painting techniques; prints by Wendy Tokaryk, whose exhibition just opened in Edmonton; and Walter Scott, who is showing at the Remai Modern.
Phew! Well, that was written in record time. And I’m off … to find my beach towel.
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Beverly Cramp, Paul Gessell, Agnieszka Matejko, Mark Mushet, Lindsey V. Sharman, Murray Whyte