Western Canada's art magazine since 2002
11 February 2020 Vol 5 No 3 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2020
From the Editor
Portia Priegert
Galleries West tends to focus on Western Canadian artists. But, now and again, something else catches my eye.
Such was the case with Japanese artist Masaomi Yasunaga. His ceramics are rough, crumbling and utterly fascinating. They resemble, as Helena Wadsley writes in this issue, antiquities hoisted up from an ancient shipwreck.
Seeing images of his work dropped me through a wormhole into memories of my aunt, who had a pottery studio on the family farm when I was a child. Her aesthetic was similar to Yasunaga’s, although her creations were more functional.
Lizbeth, as I called her, must have stood out in rural Alberta, with her flaming hair, mauve outfits and freethinking ideas from her earlier life in the Netherlands. She eventually fetched up in Calgary, where her projects included an outdoor obelisk made with tiles decorated by 10,000 Catholic elementary students.
Speaking of Calgary, this issue’s lead story looks at the launch of Contemporary Calgary’s new home in the city’s former planetarium, a place I remember from my days as a reporter on the Herald. The tug of memory was likely in play in another piece about emerging artist Holly Dyrland’s expressive landscapes of rural Alberta.
This issue also focuses on three other artists: Victoria-based painter Barrie Szekely, Winnipeg-born Ashley Gillanders and Mia Cinelli, whose elegant typographic designs put cheesy emojis to shame. Am I the only who feels like a child on a candy high when faced with tongue-lolling moon faces and pulsing multi-hued hearts?
Looking ahead, we're working on stories about two remarkable Calgary artists – sculptor Katie Ohe and Rita McKeough, who works mainly in installation and performance.
Unlike these artists, my aunt never enjoyed much success in the art world. Life conspired against her, as was so often the case with women of her generation. But I remember fondly the wonderful toys she made for me and the many other ways she stirred my creativity. I still use an earthenware bowl I made with her when I was five.
Who stirred your childhood love for art? I invite you to honour the unsung mentor in your life in our comments section below.
Until next time,
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Stacey Abramson, Lissa Robinson, John Thomson, Helena Wadsley
