Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
10 April 2018 Vol 3 No 8 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2018
From the Editor
Portia Priegert
The art world loves a mystery. The latest involves the National Gallery of Canada’s decision to sell one of its two Marc Chagall paintings. Bought for just $16,000 in 1956, which the CBC says is equivalent to roughly $146,000 today, La Tour Eiffel (1929) is expected to raise some $8 million to $11 million next month at auction in New York. While the move is unorthodox, Mark Mayer, the museum’s director, says the aim is to trade up to a more significant work that's at risk of being sold outside Canada. He’s refusing to reveal the new purchase, or even offer much in the way of clues. So the news has led to plenty of speculation and gossip.
Here at Galleries West, emails are flying back and forth, theories are being advanced and debated with all the excitement normally reserved for an office hockey pool. One thing is abundantly clear: the sandbox for Canadian paintings of that value is small.
A significant Group of Seven painting, or perhaps something by Tom Thomson or Jean-Paul Riopelle, might fit the bill. But that idea is countered by Toronto art dealer Christopher Varley, who points out the gallery is already knee deep in work by those artists, so acquisition of “anything by them would look pointless, probably stupid, perhaps even rigged.” Some observers suggest that a contemporary work by someone like Vancouver's Jeff Wall or Peter Doig, who grew up in Canada, would be in the right price range. Others observe it might not be a Canadian artist at all, and are touting other possibilities. Following this saga has been an engaging distraction from the ongoing task of editing this issue.
When we switched to our latest digital format last month, we began posting a story every two days. The one that has gathered the most traction thus far is Paul Gessell’s article about Regina ceramicist Jack Sures, who’s finally getting his day at the National Gallery of Canada.
Meanwhile, Marcus Miller looks at the identity controversy swirling around prominent American artist Jimmie Durham, whose touring retrospective just opened at Saskatoon’s Remai Modern. Beverly Cramp offers some picks from the annual Capture Photography Festival in Vancouver, and I write about Stu Oxley, who has an upcoming show of abstract paintings at Calgary's Paul Kuhn Gallery. An exhibition of botanical drawing at the Winnipeg Art Gallery also prompted my discovery of a surprising resurgence of interest in botanical illustration. And a final story by Winnipeg writer Stacey Abramson looks at Logan MacDonald's show about Indigenous land rights.
Looking ahead, we’re working on stories about Ontario artist Florin Hategan’s prints at Harcourt House in Edmonton, photo-based work by Erika DeFreitas at Platform in Winnipeg, and a show at the UBC Museum of Anthropology that brings together work from five Indigenous cultural centres in British Columbia.
We’re also keeping our eyes peeled for an expensive piece of art in transit to Ottawa. We'd love to hear your theories about the mystery. Join the discussion by adding a comment below!
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Stacey Abramson, Beverly Cramp, Paul Gessell, Marcus Miller
