Vancouver

Yang Fudong’s Fifth Night transports the viewer from the Vancouver Art Gallery to an old Shanghai street late at night. The Canadian premiere of Fudong’s video installation is part of “Yellow Signal: New Media in China,” a project initiated by Zheng Shengtian and coordinated by Centre A that presents contemporary Chinese artists at multiple venues across Vancouver.  Canadian Art, August 9, 2012

The collector vs. the director: Bob Rennie and the VAG  Absent from the high-calibre list was Kathleen Bartels, the director of the Vancouver Art Gallery. In terms of visual art, Rennie and Bartels, the collector and the director, are among the most powerful people in Vancouver.  Globe and Mail, August 11, 2012

Musqueam to protest at Marpole Midden to mark 100 days vigil at ancient site  Members of an urban Vancouver aboriginal band say they're stepping up their protest to protect a mound of ancient refuse left behind from an aboriginal village nearly 3,000 years ago that, despite its designation as a national heritage site.  Global News, August 9, 2012

Why are you laughing? $1.5M secures Vancouver’s beloved smiling statues, but what do they really mean?  They are crowd pleasers, to be sure. Fourteen figures, larger-than-life self-portraits by a renowned Chinese artist who conceived and crafted them from bronze. Grinning from ear to ear, every one. That’s Yue Minjun’s trademark, after all. He applies it to all of his work.  National Post, August 9, 2012  

North Vancouver

Squatters' shacks now a work of art  World-renowned artist Ken Lum (Monument to East Vancouver) was commissioned to create the piece, called From shangri-la to shangri-la, by the Vancouver Art Gallery. The work was originally displayed outside the Shangri-La Hotel during the 2010 Olympics. Lum, who was born and raised in Vancouver and knew of the shacks from Lowry's writing, wanted to make people think about a different kind of paradise.  North Shore News, August 10, 2012

Alert Bay

Artist's 40 masks in exhibition will fuel fire at Alert Bay potlatch Ever since Doris Shadbolt's influential Arts of the Raven exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1967, the work of Northwest Coast artists have been framed as fine art.  Vancouver Sun, August 10, 2012

Banff

Artful awareness  Tucked away along the serene banks of Banff’s Bow River is the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies. This treasure trove of history and art is the legacy of Peter Whyte and Catharine Robb-Whyte, an avante garde, philanthropic duo, whose love affair with each other, with the mountains and with art has inspired movies and novels alike.  Calgary Herald, August 9, 2012

Edmonton

McLean Fahnestock: The Final Frontier California-based artist McLean Fahnestock gathers these moments of awe and anxiety in “Space Agency,” an exhibition of works based on the space-shuttle legacy currently on view at Harcourt House in Edmonton.  Canadian Art, August 9, 2012

London, Ontario

Kevin Rodgers: Middle, End, Beginning Kevin Rodgers' installation “Out of Order” at the McIntosh Gallery in London showcases a strong studio practice paired with insightful interpretations of critical theory—elements Rodgers has honed during his studies at the University of Western Ontario’s Department of Visual Arts.  Canadian Art, August 9, 2012

Ottawa

Van Gogh Up Close: Not the Movie Van Gogh was anxious to be rid of his emotional turbulence, because it impeded his productivity. When we look at “Van Gogh Up Close,” we see a focused, meticulous painter who was confronted with an aesthetic language in the midst of radical change—who wanted to master it, and speak it for a new century.  Canadian Art, August 9, 2012

 Cleveland

Cleveland Museum Buys Antiquities, Stirs Ethics Debates With acquisitions of two antiquities, the Cleveland Museum of Art comes out firmly in support of collecting in a landscape reshaped by international disputes.  New York Times, August 13, 2012

New York

‘The Murder of Crows’ at Park Avenue Armory With violent dream sequences, dark symbolism and references to fascism, this 29-minute sound installation explores the repercussions of spatial-aural illusionism.  New York Times, August 10, 2012  

Quay Brothers Retrospective at MoMA The Museum of Modern Art presents a multidisciplinary retrospective on the work of the animation pioneers the Quay brothers. New York Times, August 10, 2012

One Man's Garbage Is Another Man's Warhol Treasure Trove
When a compulsive hoarder died, buried by his stuff, the clean-up man didn't realize at first the value of a pile of stuff from the dead man's apartment. Then he started watching Antiques Roadshow - and the story got (very) big. The New York Times, August 11, 2012

Up Close And Personal With Christopher Columbus - Of Columbus Circle "The fun is just beginning, with the scaffolding rising for the piece, by the Japanese artist Tatzu Nishi, who plans to furnish the living room with couches, lamps and a coffee table for visitors, who will be able to commune face to face in homey comfort with the 13-foot tall explorer as he pokes up into the space from atop his lofty pedestal." The New York Times, August 12, 2012

Great Britain

The Power Of Architecture To Reflect, And Destroy, A Marriage "The house was intended as some kind of remedy but exacerbated the ills it was supposed to cure. The frenetic accumulation of motifs can be seen as a way of covering a void. In which case, Larry and Lynda would be very far from the first people to imagine that homebuilding can fix relationships and be proved wrong." The Observer (UK) August 11, 2012

Naples

In Naples, Deep Plundering Of A State Library's Valuables "Prosecutors say that in the 11 months during which he managed the library, Mr. De Caro stole hundreds of its volumes. Investigators found boxes of valuable books, many with the library's stamp, in garages and private homes in several cities as well as in auction houses abroad." The New York Times, August 11, 2012

Moscow

Eloquent silent support for Pussy Riot  As three of the members of the punk band Pussy Riot, who have been charged with hooliganism motivated by religious hatred, gave their closing statements in court today (8 August), and international pop stars including Madonna call for their release, further reports of art-world solidarity have come to light.  The Art Newspaper, August 9, 2012

China

Wang Shu of China Advocates Sustainable Architecture Buildings by Wang Shu, the first Chinese architect to win the Pritzker prize, often recall nature, fusing old-world Chinese and modern idioms. New York Times, August 12, 2012

International

Why Art Auction Prices Continue To Soar "There's been a huge increase in capital in the last few years, and most of it's gone to the ruling class, the upper 1 percent. Art is actually not a very secure investment, but these folks have so much money that the thinking goes, 'Why not park a few million dollars in fine art?' " Washington Post, August 11, 2012