I was forwarded an interesting read on a different way to look at art buying, focused on the younger generation of contemporary artists rather than the Old Master painters and “blue chip artists” like Richter or Picasso. Chad Loweth doesn’t suggest spending $300,000 to $3,000,000 on a few high valued (or often “overvalued” according to… Continue Reading

I’ve never been a team sports guy. I’ve always liked solo activities — running, riding my bike, swimming. There are a lot of reasons behind that, but mostly, as I got older, I began looking to exercise to not only benefit my body, but also my mind. If I have a lot going on, I… Continue Reading

For most of us, the auction house doesn’t really inspire excitement. I think of old dead work and old people. Kate Bellringer, who runs the contemporary art section of Maynard’s Fine Art department, is the exact kind of person to change that image. Young, enthusiastic, intelligent and honest, she made me want to start paying… Continue Reading

Former commodities broker and artist Jeff Koons. Making art work is like any other job, which means that intrinsically it has the possibility to be a real drag or the only way for some to live. Or both at once. The connections and parallels between artists and entrepreneurial business people are shocking despite the outside… Continue Reading

I really hate the word culture sometimes. It means a lot of different things to different people and seems to be applied to many things that to me don’t qualify but to others are valid. One person’s culture is anothers knitting club. How you define culture is up to you and like we talked about… Continue Reading

Appropriation – separating something from where it came to give it another purpose – has been with us for a while and seems hard for someone to understand how it works in art making today. The idea that somethings are art and others are not isn’t the easiest thing to understand. It’s subjective and personal.… Continue Reading

Sculpture has been, along with painting, the standard of measurement for all great cultures. I think that sculpture up to the end of the 1950’s really talked about the wealth and standing of the countries it came from. There is an internal decadence and seriousness of marble and bronze. They are expensive, labour intensive products… Continue Reading

Jessica Eaton, cfaal 109, archival pigment print, 2011 Clint Roenisch has made a reputation in Toronto as a gallerist willing to support what too often are called “avant-garde” artists. However his own approach and the approach of those he represents is refreshingly traditional: well thought out, well executed work presented in a respectful way. It’s… Continue Reading

Christo and Jean-Claude are known for producing some of the largest public art in the world over the last 50 years. The scale, vision and determination of the couple are exceptional in today’s art world; there is truly no one else doing what they do the way they do it. And all on their own… Continue Reading

Hairy Legs, Elizabeth Znovar, 2012 Macaulay & Co. has been taking shape over the last 7 years into an important view of Vancouver’s contemporary art scene outside of the usual suspects. The focus ranges between both newly established conceptualists from the grad classes of the early 2000’s (Mark Soo, Jeremy Shaw, and Elizabeth Znovar) and… Continue Reading

“Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.” ― Bertolt Brecht Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor, Chicago, 2006

Yes, this is art. I apologize. I’ll explain. Amir by Ken Lum, 2000. I get why people have a hard time with art in general, the above piece doesn’t make it easier if you are new to trying to “get” art. And it’s a shame. I went to the Ken Lum show at the Vancouver… Continue Reading

Photo:Ingleby Gallery with Daniel Buren, 2008 by Andrew Grassie via renniecollection.org Quick, how big is the piece of art shown above? The easy way to get to the answer is to take a quick look at the room, estimate the size of the radiator or the window and make an estimate. Maybe 4′ x 4′.… Continue Reading

Caravaggio; Judith Beheading Holofernes circa 1598 ibiblio.com Caravaggio, Doubting Thomas c 1602 Caravaggio, The Cardsharps, c. 1595 Caravaggio is an art history student’s dream. Finally a painter who is a bad ass. An arrogant bar brawler and slummer who changed painting and died under mysterious circumstances with the Pope having put a price on his… Continue Reading

Simplifying can show us what’s important and lead us to what matters. Learning from the legacy of Donald Judd and path of Leo Babuata as artists and executives alike. Photo: Untitled by Donald Judd Doing less is a popular thought process in business at the moment. The idea of trying to reduce distraction and get… Continue Reading