From the Editor – October 15, 2024 issue

Western Canada’s art magazine since 2002

15 October 2024  Vol 9 No 21  ISSN 2561-3316  © 2024

From the Editor

I have just wrapped up a few days in Venice, Italy at the 60th annual Venice Biennale. It rained — buckets, cats, dogs, maybe even elephants. So. Much. Rain. But we soggily trod through pavilion after pavilion, eager to see as much art as possible.

Did I love everything I saw? Not at all. But I can say proudly that Canada’s own Kapwani Kiwanga’s Trinket is one of the Biennale’s star exhibitions, a subtle yet powerful exhibition about race, power and global trade. It’s one of the most popular exhibitions, too; during the short time I was there, the relatively small space was crowded with international visitors. 

By contrast, Indigenous artist Jeffrey Gibson’s exhibition, in the American pavilion, is anything but subtle. It is a blast of pure energy, colour and power — and perhaps unintentionally, there’s a nod to Canada, too. The Canadian hip-hop pop band A Tribe Called Red is part of the exhibition. As we exited, I could barely resist the urge to dance to their music, even as the skies opened up yet again above us.

I also really loved South African printmaker William Kentridge’s exhibition, Self Portrait as a Coffee Pot. Set in a space the same size as his actual studio, it includes a fun, fascinating video on his work process. (Kentridge has a recent Canadian connection, incidentally; read about it here.)

Should you find yourself in Venice, you can still catch most exhibitions. The Biennale is on through Nov. 24. Drop me a note if you go. I’d love to hear what you enjoy — and don’t. 

Closer to home, Steven Ross Smith visits Andrea Simmonds’ new exhibition, Plant Life, on now through Oct. 19 at Gallery Merrick in Victoria, British Columbia.

Longtime Galleries West contributor Becky Rynor had a chance to interview Jinny Yu about her process and her first solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario. It’s a compelling read. “I need space to be not loud, so I can be loud in my head,” she tells Rynor.

Janet Nicol reviews the book The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing by Adam Moss. “Readers are guaranteed to be inspired and sometimes awe-struck by this compelling study of how art comes from ‘nothing,’” she writes about the 2024 publication.

Abstract painter Jonathan Forrest’s new exhibition, Here and There, is on now through Nov. 2 at The Gallery/art placement inc. in Saskatoon.

And David Garneau’s latest solo exhibition, Visual Poetry, has recently opened at Assiniboia Gallery in Regina, Sask.

Got a new pair of kicks? Maybe they’re art. “Sneaker and artist collabs are increasingly finding their way into conventional art venues such as museums and auction houses with some elevated to a status similar to limited-edition artist prints,” says Elizabeth Semmelhack, the Bata Shoe Museum’s director and senior curator. Toronto’s Bata Shoe Museum presents Art/Wear: Sneakers x Artists through Mar. 23, 2026.

Thanks again for reading and as always, stay in touch. We at Galleries West look forward to your letters.

editor@gallerieswest.ca

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE:  Steven Ross Smith, Lissa Robinson, Janet Nicol, Becky Rynor

We acknowledge the support of the Government of Alberta Media Fund, the Government of Canada Periodical Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts.