Vancouver

Resurrecting the lost art of the mosaic

Lilian Broca’s “spectacular panels have contributed to a revival of the medium, though she finds many still dismiss the mosaic as craft, not art.” Globe & Mail, December 15, 2010

Mark Soo: Rhyming 'Revolutions'

“I had one of those moments in Or Gallery watching Mark Soo's Several Circles. It came towards the end at what might be called the 'dramatic' high point of the installation.” Canadian Voices (Vancouver Sun Blog), December 14, 2010

Edmonton

Canadian optometrist has eye for stunning photographs

“A Canadian optometrist who moonlights as a photographer has won a prestigious international prize for a series of striking images he captured on trips to Africa and Asia.” Vancouver Sun, December 14, 2010

Toronto

Ojibwa multi-media artist Carl Beam deserves a wider spotlight

A three-year partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art to open a Toronto window for the National Gallery of Canada’s deep holdings was the good news. The not-so-good news in the recent NGC announcement is the arrangement doesn’t start with work from “Carl Beam,” the big, bold retrospective from the Ojibwa multi-media artist making relatively little noise in the media beyond the national capital. Toronto Star, December 13, 2010

Ottawa

CEO Rabinovitch to leave museums in May

“After serving for more than a decade, Victor Rabinovitch will retire in May from his job as president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Museum of Civilization and its subsidiary, the Canadian War Museum.” Ottawa Citizen, December 14, 2010

A year of capital delights

Peter Simpson’s list of favourite exhibitions presented in Ottawa in 2010. Ottawa Citizen, December 13, 2010

Montreal

Historic Otto Dix collection in La Belle Province

“Among the most striking works in the show are portraits of notable people, where Dix exhibits a talent for catching the soul of a subject. And herein lies the tale of the special link Montreal and its major museum have with Otto Dix.  One of his portraits was of a lawyer named Hugo Simon, who had represented Dix in a lawsuit. Simon, who was Jewish, fled Hitler and landed in Montreal as a refugee.”  Toronto Star, December 15, 2010

San Francisco

Why Does The de Young Museum Ban Sketching In Its Galleries?

"The de Young's not the only museum with such a Pecksniffian prohibition, but it's the exception rather than the rule. An exception that mocks the way that art is transmitted from one generation of believers to the next, and mocks the stature of museums within our cultural landscape." San Francisco Chronicle, December 15, 2010

Los Angeles

Artist Responds To LA Museum Of Contemporary Art Painting Over His Mural

"It is censorship that almost turned into self-censorship when they asked me to openly agree with their decision to erase the wall. In Soviet Union they were calling it 'self-criticism.' [MoCA director Jeffrey] Deitch invited me to paint another mural over the one he erased, and I will not do that." Los Angeles Times, December 14, 2010

Charleroi, Belgium

A Bus Tour Around Belgium's Ugliest Town

"Nicolas Buissart leads an 'Urban Safari' that includes climbing a slag heap, exploring never-used metro stations, walking down streets reputed to be the ugliest in this country, and visiting the house where the painter Magritte's mother lived - before she drowned herself in the canal. If this sounds like fun, hop into his van, which has no seats." Wall Street Journal, December 14, 2010

Pisa

Restored Tower of Pisa Now Leans Slightly Less

"The Leaning Tower of Pisa has been returned to its former glory after an eight-year restoration project in which it was cleaned and partially straightened … by 18 inches from the vertical, returning it to its 1838 position." The Telegraph (UK), December 13, 2010