doreyme

Toronto friends + art lovers....

My good friends + incredible artists, Paul Burke & Anna Gustafson are having an

ART SHOW & SALE  

folk art sculpture, encaustic
paintings & raku ceramics 

at the home of

Patrick & Theresa Burke

70 Blyth Hill Road, Toronto - map

Friday     June 3        3-9
Saturday June 4     10-6

Paul & Anna    250 537 0754
during show     416 733 0533

Super opportunity to buy prints from fabulous Montreal photographer...

Gordon Ball.

On now, in Montreal

the fabulous Otto Dix show.

Bob Dylan's art work...

   here

Matisse in NY

work, work, work...

 

so today, at Pat Pink's...

Beside art (including some of my watercolours) there are odds + sods...kitchen appliances (a brand new rice cooker), lots of furniture, etc.  Vernissage between 1-5.

 

Oh oh, a smal-mart's come to Montreal....

 

women artists of the victorian era...

 
see more  
 

went to see the John William Waterhouse, Garden of Enchantment

at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts today.  It's not my cup of tea but far be it for me to discourage arting on a fine Saturday afternoon.  The paintings aside (+ I did really like the room of JWW's sketches + preliminary paintings, there was signs of intelligence clearly visible in some of the models' eyes) I wasn't particularly enchanted by the goth walls, curtains, flowers, etc...  

 

That's the second major show in the last few months where I've seen works of art posted on black walls. Why? Why? Why?   A few other things stuck out... Below, in the Canadian section,  a super brand new fabulous Harold Klunder, an old Michael Snow that stands the test of time admirably + outside a good old Joe Fafard cow chill-axing in the snow. 

 
 

 

why not?

art on taxis  

Visions, not of sugar plumbs, but...

of fast food

 

If you're heading to the Laurentians, around the Mount-Tremblant area, drop by the Ateliers du Village

anytime to check out the fabulous furniture, sculpture + art but for a 5-7, this Saturday. Cheers.  

 

This applies everywhere, naturally

Guido van der Werve, talk + film screening, Nov 19 at DHC, Montreal (465 St. Jean), 7PM

  

Dutch artist, Guido van der Werve talks about his works in the exhibition Living Time and presents the Canadian premiere of his new film nummer twalf (number twelve) variations on a theme. The king's gambit accepted, the number of stars in the sky and why a piano can't be tuned, or waiting for an earthquake (2009). 40 minutes.

The artist talk will be given in English - Programmed by Sarah Watson

465, St-Jean 

more info here

A good thing, from the city of Montreal....

FIRST IMPRESSION A photography exhibition by the youth of Saint-Henri A project produced in collaboration with the artist Michael Flomen, la maison des jeunes La galerie, and Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal in the framework of the Ville de Montréal’s Programme de partenariat culture et communauté 2009 The exhibition is a result of an intensive workshop in which the young participants were brought into contact with contemporary photography through their interactions with a professional artist and through guided visits to the exhibitions of Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal. They experimented with exposing photographic paper directly to light, producing images that celebrate and trace elements from the urban environment of Saint-Henri.

Opening: November 18 at 6 pm

Caffé Mariani 4450 Notre-Dame West (close to Métro Saint-Henri) From November 18 – 30, 2009 For more information: 514-390-0383

This project has benefited from the financial support of the Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine du Québec and the Ville de Montréal in the framework of l'Entente sur le développement culturel de Montréal 2008-2011.

Van Gogh's letters, on view

at the Van Gogh Museum, in Amsterdam

the wonderful Mary Cassatt + Winslow Homer+ others

 

At the Met 

World Press Photo, 2009, Montreal

 

more here 

Checked out the World Press Photo show, today at the Musee Juste pour rire, 2111 boul. St-Laurent.   Surprised that it cost $12.  Can't remember paying for it when it was at one of the MInistry of Culture buildings before, but that might just be faulty memory at play.  In any case, I can't imagine whose idea it was to paint everything black...all those beautiful brick walls painted black + then shooting great bright beams of blinding lights on the photos.  Everywhere I saw people shielding their eyes, squinting to actually make out the photos...on the $ note, again.  I seem to recall that millions + millions of tax dollars have been poured into this building, so I hope the 12 bucks, went in some way to the actual photographers....So, re: the show.  Well, a lot of the images were pretty grim + the overall feeling was, gee, blessed are we, here in Canada + please, as a country, let's take in more people suffering.  (As long as they leave their feuds + hatreds behind....) Oh, + that photo above, is not from Montreal, it's from the website.  I think this shot is from Amsterdam.  Here in Montreal, the walls are black, black, black. 

a new dave arnold teenage nudes show at the emporium gallery

  

3035 St. Antoine Ouest

oh that david byrne what is he up to now?

rainraingoaway but if you need some summer colour, Pat Pink Garden Show still going strong

Pink Espace "The Garden Show", 1399 St. Jacques, Montreal

a new gallery in town, Battat Contemporary

 

see for yourself

these were in my e-mail box this morn....

very interesting article about Picasso's masculinity, Hitler + modern art

here

HERB & DOROTHY Trailer from Herb and Dorothy on Vimeo.

2 views of Francis Bacon

 Self Portrait      By Lucien Freud

There's a big Francis Bacon show in NY right now at the Met.  Recently a Canadian columnist, Barbara Kay wrote an article about it in the National Post, a right-wing newspaper I subscribe to because of, ironically, the art.  It actually writes quite frequently about art + culture, etc. unlike our local paper, the Montreal Gazette. Not usually by Barbara Kay, however.  I don't know what possessed her to write an article about Francis Bacon.  She doesn't say she went to the exhibition.  In any case I found her article very disturbing + distressing. 

I'm not a huge Francis Bacon fan. I cover my eyes during gory bits in movies + the news.   I hate CSI, etc.  But Barbara Kay called Francis Bacon's work "so called art" + stated that it was "degenerate".  Well, I studied art history + the word "degenerate" in relation to art, as BK well knows,  was most famously used by the Nazis to describe virtually ALL modern art.  Then, later,  post war-horror Francis Bacon's early modern art works were of Nazis -- Eichmann, Hitler, Himmler, etc.  Small world.

But back to the article in the National Post,  entitled  "A Perversion of Art"  -- Ms Kay also talks about the touring exhibit Body World, which features plastinated cadavers,  +  Lawren Harris of the Group of 7.  She mentions his great grandaughter apparently is a wheelchair erotica model. 

I don't get what the cadaver freak show or Lawren Harris's grandaughter has to do with Mr. Bacon's show in NY, but that's not what really gets me.  What gets me is that people like BK who has an M.A. in Literature + has taught at all sorts of Canadian schools + lectures + edits magazines + writes for a national paper, etc. would take the time and effort to so stridently crap on an art show in NY of an artist who died in 1992?  Like, why?  Like, where's the fire?  

And why in such a virulent, clunky, unnuanced manner?  Does she not care that Harper, our ultra-Conservative Prime Minister has probably posted her indictment of Bacon on his fridge door?  Does she not care this government is shutting down museums?  That articles like this help to enflame the red-neck "a (degenerate) monkey could paint that" crap too prevalent in Canada?  Starting from the top, from a PM who thinks art is for elitists...  To paraphrase the old sawhorse -- youth is wasted on the young  -- education is wasted on the stup--close-minded. 

Someone in BK's position, ought to be promoting the arts.  Surely there is an exhibition somewhere on this planet she might encourage her readers to visit?   I mean, for us Canucks,  we really have to go out of our way to see Bacon's show in NY.  So am I going to cancel my subscription to the National Post?   +  gee,  today it's got this marvelous article + pics of the Vancouver architect 

arthur erickson an exceedingly talented + kind man who died this week.  (He once wrote a glowing letter of recommendation for me + a group of young optimistic Vancouver art school students in the 1970's to obtain an art grant to "bring art to the people".  We got that grant + worked our butts off + had enough money to pay tuition in the fall.)  

+ I absolutely adore the Post's editorial cartoonist, Gary Clement, even more since he wrote this about BK's article.  Then he said she said... Here is BK's note to "knee jerk liberal art critics: Nazi + homophobics don't own the word degenerate"

What evah.   A national newspaper has a responsibility to publish nuanced articles + BK's rant is wayyyyyyyy over the top.  It has to be a cynical move by the paper to provoke readership much like the View's use of Elizabeth Hasselbeck.

In any case, to counter balance BK's rant, here is Roberta Smith's art review in the NY Times, called If Paintings Had Voices, Francis Bacon's Would Shriek.  

So yeah it's definitely time this knee jerk liberal stopped subscribing to the National Post. Like today. Thanks Babs. Hello Globe + Mail.     

what the world's most continuously creative, innovative artist --David Hockney-- is up to recently

what a guy

Terry Ewasiuk, photography show, Vancouver June 5.09

Another good friend/Emily Carr art school buddy (when it was called Vancouver School of Art) is showing new photos...it should be a great show.  Terry's got a very

sharp, witty eye 

pink flamingoes together at pat pink's gallery but not talking

shoe time, may 17.09

tomorrow, Sunday May 17.09

vote on the best in canadian + international contemporary photography

vote here

Blue Horse Folk Art Show + Sale, Calgary, May 28-29

Good friends, Vancouver high school/art school buddies, now living + working + running the beautiful Blue Horse Gallery on Saltspring Island, have a 2 day sale in Calgary coming up. Their work is incredible + everyone should rush to Saltspring or Calgary + buy everything, quick.  Blue Horse Gallery

Pat Pink show, Vernissage May 17 1399 St. Jacques, 2-6 Pm

O, I didn't know until a few moments ago this show was called "Imagine a Garden Show".  I've been working on some new paintings for the show coming up this weekend but had I known the name earlier I might have, a la Yoko Ono, imagined some new work for the show.  Too late. 

And it's a quadruple whammy this weekend.  A vernissage, a birthday ( ahem), a return home from the family's prodigal father/husband from a historically cold Alberta + Victoria Day weekend, a celebration of the Sovereign's birthday (Canada is, afterall, a member of the Commonwealth of Nations of which Queen Elizabeth is head). Of course, here in Quebec it isn't called Victoria Day it's called National Patriot's day (Journée nationale des Patriotes) + I've been told in Ontario it's called 2-4 day (as in a case of 24 beer)  but I don't know if that's true. 

+ in another wing of the museum

Napoleon's actual hat + very cool boots, merged with my reflections wherein I suddenly become irrecoverably + infinitessimally part of Napoleonic lore. 

meanwhile at the Montreal Museum

John + Yoko 

The blue blobs are not part of the show.  I just don't want to get sued.

speaking about Louise Bourgeois...

the show at the Hirshborn in Washington is simply amazing.  For some unfathomable reason I never really took notice of this amazing artist's work although she has a very prominent sculpture in front of our National Gallery in Ottawa, one of her familiar....

She turned 97 this year + still producing stunning, stunning art.

Older than Methuselah, Wiser Than God

check it out=

Younger Than jesus

check it out

If in Montreal...

Very good show to see to appreciate just how fabulous  Matisse,Toulouse-Lautrec,Degas, Bonnard, etc. etc. etc. are.  Something about learning from negative example...

the van Dongen show. 

Two of my talented friends, Hélène Bruderlein + Kathlyn Horibe are showing their photos at the...

Centre culturel de Verdun  from january 21 to March 13.  Super beautiful.

Cool Warhol Show in Montreal + a Napolean show

..stuff, eg. Napolean's boots, donated by the Weider.

see 4 yourself

Robert Lepage's History of Quebec City, Old Port, Quebec City, 2008

see for yourself

another example...

Due to popular demand (as they say)...

The show at Thomson House has been extended for some time, at least until June 15...but today, took down some of the sold paintings going to good homes.  Here is 1 + for once,  a close up of it.   In most photographs, especially those posted online, it's not apparent just how much carving/incision is involved.  From afar they look flat but with closer inspection....

Vernissage today, Alain Martin at Pat Pink's 2-5

One of my fave Montreal painters.  Must admit to tinge of jealousy at this idea.  Watercolours of online real estate sites.  Too cool.  + if this blog looks particularly wonky it's because Typepad, the blog company I subscribe to has changed their formatting system which I haven't yet figured out.

Geoffrey James, National Gallery of Canada

Went to our nation's capital for some R+R + art appreciating, starting with Montreal's Geoffrey James' vernissage + fabulous retrospective show of mostly b+w panoramic landscapes.