Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
21 November 2017 Vol 2 No 24 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2017
From the Editor
Portia Priegert
Lists and archives have been on my mind in recent days as I research our upcoming special issue on art books. I couldn’t find a comprehensive list of visual art publications released in Canada over the last year, so I’ve been spending hours online scoping out publishers, galleries and the like in order to to compile a list of our own.
It’s the first time Galleries West has tried a themed issue, and it’s a fun project that combines two great loves – reading and looking at art. It will be published on Dec. 19 – the last issue before the holidays – and it's recommended reading for last-minute shoppers who need gift ideas.
As part of this project, we're reaching out to people in the arts world – artists, curators, gallery owners and other people who enjoy art – to find out what they are reading. We'd love our readers to be part of this project, and would enjoy hearing from you. Simply drop a quick email to editor@gallerieswest.ca with “art book” in the subject line. Let us know your recommendation and please add a few words about why you like it. It can be something hot off the press (or just downloaded) or a musty old favourite, from Canada or elsewhere. Non-fiction or fiction are both fine, as long as the book has some link to visual art.
Archiving was also on my mind this week because of an update to the search function on the Galleries West website. One of the site's most useful features is the open-access archive of articles about Western Canadian artists and exhibitions from the last 15 years. The search box at the top of the page at gallerieswest.ca is now a comprehensive internal search, including separate tabs for Articles, Events, Locations and Tags. Try it out with the name of a favourite artist, or even one of our writers. And please send us your comments.
In keeping with the archival theme, this issue of Galleries West Digital has a historical flavour. Our cover story, by arts writer John Thomson, looks at the Polygon Gallery’s opening show, which explores North Vancouver's past and present. We also have stories about two senior West Coast artists – John K. Grande writes about Gordon Smith and Beverly Cramp tackles Sylvia Tait – and there’s also a preview of a Calgary show that features rarely seen paintings by Tom Thomson. Enjoy!
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Beverly Cramp, Paul Gessell, John K. Grande, John Thomson
