Vancouver   Fall arts preview: Visual arts critics' picks: From Larry Clark to hot neon, the art world lights up.  Critic’s picks include: Shore, Forest and Beyond (October 29 to January 29 at the Vancouver Art Gallery)  The VAG’s big fall exhibition is drawn from one of the most important private art collections in the country, that of philanthropists Michael Audain and Yoshiko Karasawa. The show focuses on British Columbia art, from 18th-century prints from Capt. Cook’s voyage to Nootka Sound and 19th-century First Nations masks, to a stellar group of early-20th-century Emily Carr works, and on through the 21st century of Jeff Wall, Rodney Graham, Marianne Nicolson, and more. Also on view will be the collection’s sideways excursion into the Mexican modernism of Diego Rivera and Rufino Tamayo. This show’s complement, An Autobiography of Our Collection (September 24 to February 12), follows some of the idiosyncrasies that have shaped the VAG’s acquisition of more than 10,000 pieces of historic and contemporary art.
The Draw: Shore, Forest and Beyond is a privileged view into a stellar couple’s taste, temperament, and pride in British Columbia.  Georgia Straight, September 15, 2011 

Raymond Boisjoly and Rebecca Chaperon: Artists draw inspiration from black metal and fairy tales Raymond Boisjoly's art channels black metal at the Republic Gallery, while Rebecca Chaperon taps the unconscious mind at the grunt.  Georgia Straight, September 15, 2011 

Wood and silkscreens herald Contemporary Art Gallery's 40th anniversary  New director Nigel Price puts his stamp on the downtown space, handing out magnifying glasses and introducing a 1960s pop-artist nun.  Georgia Straight, September 15, 2011 

Bob Rennie’s Chinatown art gallery will show Royal B. C. Museum exhibitions in a five-year deal. (Mac Perry column) Vancouver Sun, September 15, 2011 

Peering behind the mask   Sonny Assu’s found objects peer into the meaning of Northwest Coast masks.  There are 18 masks in the exhibition Longing at the West Vancouver Museum. They’re all cut in a V-shape with the point of the V flattened in such a way that the uneven surface resembles the bridge of the nose. Each one has its own unique character.  Vancouver Sun, September 15, 2011 

Toronto Strong summer for art galleries The Art Gallery of Ontario’s acclaimed summer exhibition of 100 Abstract Expressionist works from New York’s Museum of Modern Art drew just over 118,000 visitors during its exclusive 14-week run in Toronto.  Globe and Mail, September 15, 2011 

New York Making New York’s Glass Buildings Safer for Birds The reflective towers of New York City, which is on the Atlantic migratory flyway, can be deadly for birds. An estimated 90,000 birds are killed by flying into buildings in the city each year.  New York Times, September 15, 2011  

United States NEA Chief Launches Partnership To Use Arts As Economic Engine Rocco Landesman "has helped to enlist an unusual consortium of foundations, corporations and federal agencies that will use cultural enterprises to anchor and enliven 34 projects around the country, from a struggling city block in Detroit to a vacant school in East Harlem." The New York Times, September 15, 2011

Barcelona  Pritzker Prize Jury Gets A Real Judge "Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will join the jury for the Pritzker Prize, architecture's top honor, Pritzker officials announced this morning. Joining Breyer on the eight-person jury will be architect Zaha Hadid, who won the prize in 2004." Los Angeles Times, September 14, 2011 

Milan Different Trains: A Holocaust Memorial Under Milan's Central Station It was from a dark old depot, long since forgotten, underneath the terminal that hundreds of Jews were stuffed into cattle cars and shipped to Auschwitz in 1944. After a long and slow start, Milan is now converting the depot into a memorial and library, complete with wooden train cars. The New York Times, September 11, 2011

Istanbul  From Old Disco to New Media, Istanbul Capitalizes on Biennial With 4,000 art-world professionals and 700 journalists descending on the city this week, curators are using the event to expand their presence. New York Times, September 15, 2011  

A Simplified and Secretive Istanbul Biennial The curators are taking a back-to-basics approach, at least in their choice of locations, and channelling an artist's aesthetic for a more visual and visceral punch.  New York Times, September 15, 2011   

Singapore  Is Singapore's Art Scene Finally Taking Off? (Can It?) There has been a flurry of successful art events in recent months, and a big new national museum in being built. "But certain exhibits, particularly when they touch on [politics or] sex, have been shut down prematurely. ... [Is the island] progressive enough to develop a thriving arts scene?" The Wall Street Journal, September 14, 2011 

Cheryl Siegel, Librarian/Archivist

Vancouver Art Gallery

750 Hornby Street Vancouver BC, V6Z 2H7

604-662-4709