Vancouver

The hottest tickets of the summer  From visual arts to music to dance to theatre, our critics highlight the season’s can’t-miss numbers.  The Colour of My Dreams: The Surrealist Revolution in Art, May 28 to Sept. 25   It’s being billed as the most comprehensive exhibition of Surrealist art ever to grace a Canadian art institution. Could it be otherwise when you’re hosting more than 350 works by such notables as Dali, Ernst, Man Ray, Miro and Magritte, culled from museums around the world?  Globe and Mail, May 21, 2011

Dive into some dreamy depictions  Now, in what some consider the Vancouver Art Gallery's most ambitious exhibit to date, the work of 80 leading Surrealist artists can be seen in The Colour of My Dreams: The Surrealist Revolution in Art, opening May 28. The Province, May 21, 2011 

The Surrealism Dinner at the Vancouver Art Gallery  The official gala opening of The Colour of My Dreams: The Surrealist Revolution in Art, an exhibition organized by the Vancouver Art Gallery.  Hello B.C. (Tourism B.C.) May 21, 2011 

Martin Creed finds a home in Vancouver’s Rennie  Condominium marketer Bob Rennie is the biggest collector of Turner Prize-winning artist Martin Creed.   Globe and Mail, May 21, 2011 

Urban gardens are emerald jewels in the city's crown. On the roof of the Wing Sang, the oldest building in Vancouver's Chinatown, there is a garden. Not just any old garden, but one of the most stylish, artistic, minimalist garden spaces in the city. Vancouver Sun, May 19, 2011

Canada Post to close downtown Vancouver facility and move mail processing to YVR.  Vancouver City Councillor, Geoff Meggs suggested the Vancouver Art Gallery, which wants to build a new facility on the adjacent Larwill Park site, should consider refurbishing the Post Office, since it has a massive amount of open space that could be configured into a new gallery. Vancouver Sun, May 19, 2011

West Georgia post office to head south  The post office's announcement coincides with massive development interest in the area where it is now located. In March, Telus announced a $750-million development of its Georgia and Seymour property two blocks away. And the VAG is in the early planning stages for a new gallery on the old Larwill Park block two streets in the other direction on Georgia.  Vancouver Sun, May 20, 2011

A building full of history  The oldest building in Vancouver is also one of the quirkiest — and not just because of its history and unusual architecture. It’s Vancouver’s coolest museum. The Hastings Mill store was built way back in 1865.  Vancouver Sun, May 21, 2011

Victoria

Immigrant’s first business was gold, his second was bronze.  A new bronze sculpture of John Sebastian Helmcken was designed and produced by the sculptor Armando Barbon.  Globe and Mail, May 23, 2011

Toronto

The last prankster  Surviving member of the activist art trio General Idea, AA Bronson, ponders unlikely life and a retrospective.  “Haute Culture:  General Idea” is at the AGO from July 30 to January 1, 2012.  Toronto Star, May 22, 2011

Owen Sound

Gallery shows off Thomson collection  For the first time, the Tom Thomson gallery’s collection of his art work is almost all out of the vault and on permanent display. The show features almost all of the gallery's collection of art work, personal belongings and information as well as a space for art work by other artist s who were inspired by Thomson.  Canadian Spirit : The Tom Thomson Experience opened Friday.  The Sun Times, May 21, 2011 

Marfa, Texas

Tiny Marfa: funky art capital of the west  ‘You have to reinvent yourself when you come here,” Joni Marginot says, blinking furiously as hot gritty wind attacks our eyes, “because life as you knew it can’t exist in a place like this.” Globe and Mail, May24, 2011

Cincinnati

Cincinnati Museum Puts Van Gogh Restoration On The Big Screen "The Cincinnati Art Museum has displayed conservation work before. But this is the first time that, at Per Knutas' suggestion, the museum has connected the powerful microscope he uses - the same kind that's used for surgical procedures - to a 42-inch flat screen TV hanging on the wall behind him. Visitors can see the painstaking conservation work like never before." Cincinnati Enquirer, May 22, 2011 

New York

Frick Collection Picks Ian Wardropper as Director   The Frick Collection, a small but sumptuous museum housed in a limestone mansion on Fifth Avenue, has chosen as its next director Ian Wardropper.  New York Times, May 20, 2011

Cory Arcangel’s Video Games at the Whitney - Art   Cory Arcangel specializes in modifying old videogames and other electronic detritus into statements about our relationship with technology.  New York Times, May 22, 2011   

Finding Ancient Egypt's Sense of Humor   The remarkable show "Haremhab, The General Who Became King" at the Met dispels the long-held myth of ancient Egypt as a culture solely concerned with timeless icons of gods and posturing kings.  New York Times, May 21, 2011 

Chinese Characters and Matisse at the Morgan; ‘Hide/Seek’ Heads to the Brooklyn  Chinese characters carved and painted by Xu Bing are displayed at the Morgan Libray & Museum; the Brooklyn Museum plans to host “Hide/Seek,” the controversial portraiture exhibition; and Italian-influenced works from the Sonnabend collection.  New York Times, May 20, 2011

‘Cronocaos,’ by Rem Koolhaas, at the New Museum Rem Koolhaas, with Shohei Shigematsu, has created an exhibition at the New Museum that challenges the rush to preserve sites deemed historic. New York Times, May 24, 2011 

Atlanta

Atlanta Mayor Reverses 50% Cut In Arts Funding "In a stunning admission, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said Thursday he was wrong in proposing 'draconian' cuts to local arts projects in his 2012 budget. Instead, Reed has fully restored funding to 2011 levels for the grants program sponsoring groups and emerging artists." (The city's total arts budget, with funds restored: $470,000.) Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 20, 2011 

United States

American Museums Open Free To Military  "More than 1,300 museums across the country are offering free admission to active duty military personnel and their families all summer in a program with the National Endowment for the Arts." Miami Herald (AP) May 23, 2011 

U.K.

A New Generation Of British Artists?  "The reign of "the concept" in modern British art is finally over: long live "the object". As some of the former rebels of the notorious Young British Artist movement are accused of selling out to "the establishment", a new generation is taking their place, flaunting an altogether new aesthetic."   The Observer (UK) May 22, 2011

Venice

Steven Shearer: Death metal in Venice  Vancouver artist Steven Shearer, famous for his images of disaffected youth and aggressive pop culture, reshapes the Canadian Pavilion at the Biennale in a surprisingly gentle way.  Globe and Mail, May 21, 2011   

Australia

Aboriginal Art Market On The Rocks "Reports of a lacklustre indigenous art trade were confirmed in spectacular fashion last week when the first big Aboriginal art sale in six months grossed just $1.25 million from estimates that anticipated double or triple that." The Australian, May 24, 2011 

Cheryl Siegel, Librarian/Archivist

Vancouver Art Gallery

750 Hornby Street Vancouver BC, V6Z 2H7

604-662-4709