Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
13 July 2021 Vol 6 No 14 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2021
Portia Priegert
From the Editor
Galleries West, like a lot of businesses, has pivoted during the pandemic. As museums and galleries closed to protect public health, we began to experiment with different types of coverage.
We have featured videos about artists, published commentaries on current issues, and produced more ambitious features and series. While this was driven partly by necessity, the pandemic kept us stuck at home and in need of distraction. Work fit the bill nicely.
In this issue we try yet another experiment – an online formula familiar from other sites, including Artsy, usually signalled with headlines like Five Artists to Watch. Our feature, Words of Wisdom, avoids the annoying click-through approach used by some websites and lets readers scroll down for thoughtful advice about making a career in the arts.
Galleries West’s intern Megan Klak used research for her recent two-part series on mentoring for this article, which features 10 leading Western Canadian artists, including Dempsey Bob, Diana Thorneycroft and Lyndal Osborne. They emphasize looking inward for inspiration, building community and trusting yourself, among other useful advice. I think this engaging article, already shared more than 350 times, could be expanded into a wonderful book. Megan, a recent graduate from the University of Alberta’s fine arts program, says it was fantastic experience to interview these artists, who so generously shared their thoughts.
Another highlight in this issue is Agnieszka Matejko’s review of Black Every Day, a group show by 15 Black artists at the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton. The gallery came under fire recently for failing to include Black artists in its Alberta biennial exhibitions, so moving this annual show, organized by 5 Artists 1 Love, a small grassroots organization, from a basement community space up to a prominent second-floor location, is a positive development.
Ceramic artists also get a place in the sun in this issue. In Alberta, Mary-Beth Laviolette reviews an exhibition by Mary Shannon Will, who is known for obsessive surface patterning on both her paintings and ceramic sculptures. Vancouver arts writer Amy Gogarty reviews a book about a leading ceramic artist, Walter Ostrom, an East Coast innovator and educator who has been honoured with the prestigious Saidye Bronfman Award for excellence in fine crafts. Meanwhile, I write about a Victoria show that features two quite different ceramic sculptors – Saskatoon’s Sandra Ledingham and Toronto’s Susan Collett – in an article titled Minimalist or Maximalist?
Our sixth and final piece, by Vancouver arts writer and doctoral student Yani Kong, considers Interior Infinite, an exhibition at the Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver. The show looks at transitory assertions of identity through costuming and includes international artists such as Nick Cave, Yinka Shonibare and Carrie Mae Weems.
We also have some treats coming up for our next issue. Mark Mushet has produced a fabulous video about Matthew Ballantyne, a Vancouver artist who explores his love of birdwatching in a quirky show, as part of our ongoing video series. And arts writer Aruna D’Souza, who was born in Edmonton and now contributes to the New York Times from her base in the United States, reviews Vancouver-based Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill’s exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Aruna has just received a $50,000 national arts writing award in the United States, and we're thrilled to publish her writing. We'll also have a report from Canmore-based arts dealer Doug Maclean on the spring auction season, with highlights that include the sale of Emily Carr’s Tossed by the Wind for $3.1 million.
Canada's art world is emerging from the latest wave of the pandemic. Alberta’s galleries have reopened, and Ontario galleries are following this week. Let’s hope Canadians – thanks to vaccines and various public health measures – can continue to hold case numbers down despite the threat of new variants. I'm sure we can all agree it will be a joy to go gallery hopping again!
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Amy Gogarty, Megan Klak, Yani Kong, Mary-Beth Laviolette, Agnieszka Matjeko
We acknowledge the support of the Government of Alberta Media Fund, the Government of Canada Special Measures for Journalism Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts.
