Western Canada’s art magazine since 2002
11 June 2024 Vol 9 No 12 ISSN 2561-3316 © 2024
Shelley Boettcher
From the Editor
It’s almost the middle of June! Summer is officially here — what better time than now to see fresh art?
If you haven’t heard the news yet, the Calgary Stampede has added a massive art collection to the new BMO Centre, including work from 67 Southern Alberta artists. Alberta writer Mary-Beth Laviolette has details here.
Also at the Stampede, Nancy Tousley checks out Spirit of Water, a new work by British artist Gerry Judah on view outside the BMO Centre. “Understanding the importance of water for the city’s development at the confluence of two rivers, the Bow and the Elbow, led him to make water the focus of his proposed work,” Tousley writes. The work has fresh gravitas this month, given the city's current water woes.
Then let’s head to Ottawa, where regular contributor Paul Gessell saw the Canadian War Museum's new exhibition, Outside the Lines. The show, which features war art by Gertrude Kearns, Daphne Odjig, Elizabeth Simcoe and others, is on until Jan. 5, 2025 in Ottawa. Versions will then tour across Canada for three years.
Artist Jake Kimble’s new exhibition, Good Grief, is on view now at Art Gallery of St. Albert in Alberta through July 20. If you’re in town, stop by for a curator’s tour of the show tomorrow, June 12, at noon.
The powerful paintings of Sam Ash are featured in the exhibition, People of the Eyes, on view until June 16 at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Then we head back to Calgary, where Angela Grossmann’s latest exhibition, All that Glitters, is on view now through June 22 at Herringer Kiss Gallery. She’s had a big month; her painting, Promenade (in Pink), sold for $48,000 in May, setting a Contemporary Calgary fundraiser auction record.
By the time you read this, you’ve missed the 2024 Saskatchewan Art Gallery Day (which took place June 1) but that doesn’t mean you can’t visit a Saskatchewan gallery just the same. There’s always plenty to see — and I know I have already made a note to put the 2025 Saskatchewan Art Gallery Day on the calendar for next year.
And yes, here’s another reminder that if you shop on Amazon, please consider supporting us. We have an association with Amazon that lets you support independent arts journalism in Canada by buying books directly through our site. If you purchase a book by clicking on the Amazon link in a review, Galleries West may receive a small commission. Watch for more art book reviews later this summer, too.
As you can see, we have also unveiled a fresh new redesign of our newsletter. What do you think? Drop us a note when you have a moment. And, as always, thank you for reading. It means a lot to us.
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Mary-Beth Laviolette Paul Gessell Nancy Tousley
We acknowledge the support of the Government of Alberta Media Fund, the Government of Canada Periodical Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts.
