Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
9 May 2023 Vol 8 No 9 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2023
Portia Priegert
From the Editor
A trio of famous photographers dominates this issue of Galleries West. Paul Gessell’s story about Diane Arbus, whose show opens May 11 at Contemporary Calgary, is already a reader favourite. We also look at Edward Burtynsky’s work on industrialization in Africa, and an exhibition in Paris by the late Montreal artist Lynne Cohen.
Galleries West doesn’t roam much to Europe, but when I learned Vancouver writer Helena Wadsley was working in the French countryside, I asked her to review Cohen’s show at the Centre Pompidou, one of my favourite art galleries in Paris.
Thinking about it brought back memories from my 20s, when I enrolled in a Sorbonne program for foreigners who wanted to improve their French. Each weekday morning, I went to a grammar class and then to lectures about French literature and art history. After lunch, usually a fresh demi-baguette slathered in creamy butter and lashed with ham, I studied in the library and then strolled across the Seine to the Pompidou. I was already a journalist by that time, which allowed me to bypass lineups and enter museums for free. I tried, unsuccessfully, to visit every museum in Paris, and spent many pleasant afternoons exploring different collections.
Still, I’ll admit to a speck of envy when Helena mentioned that Catherine Bédard, the curator of the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris, had kindly connected her with curator Matthias Pfaller for a personal tour of the Cohen exhibition. When I fact-checked Helena’s article, I used the Pompidou’s 15-page online dossier for journalists. It is one of the best I have seen – helpful, thorough and elegantly written in impeccable English.
Sadly, I can't say the same about my French, although I did scrape through my final exams. I have tried to forget the worst part, the dictée, a staple of French education that requires students to transcribe perfectly, down to every accent, a text read by the instructor, often something from the French classics. I love word puzzles but the dictée is the intellectual equivalent of the medieval rack.
But, back to this issue. Please check out Ray Cronin’s excellent piece on Melinda Blauvelt’s photographs of an Acadian fishing village in the 1970s, and Yani Kong’s review of a Vancouver show, Iodame, that includes photographs and drawings by Calgary artist Robin Arseneault and ceramics by Ottawa’s Maura Doyle.
Our final item is a commentary on Canadian art fairs by Ottawa-based arts writer Amy Fung that was prompted by her visit to the inaugural Plural art fair in Montreal. The fair, organized by the Contemporary Art Galleries Association, attracted almost 50 galleries from across Canada, including several from Vancouver (Gallery Jones, Unit 17, Wil Aballe), Calgary (TrépanierBaer, VivianeArt) and Regina (Slate Gallery).
Finally, looking ahead, we are working on stories about Peter Doig and Attila Richard Lukacs, among other artists.
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Ray Cronin, Amy Fung, Paul Gessell, Yani Kong, Helena Wadsley, Kristine Thoreson
We acknowledge the support of the Government of Alberta Media Fund, the Government of Canada Periodical Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts.
