<p>Adopting and elaborating upon stylistic repertoires drawn from the history of figure painting, Steven Shearer makes formal and thematic parallels between art history and the iconography associated with various contemporary subcultures including their modes of dissemination such as fanzines and image shrines on personal websites. He is interested in how contemporary society unconsciously echoes specific manners of appearance that have been explored by historical movements or schools. Seen in this light the resemblance between the long, flowing hair of his metal-head rockers and the tresses of Pre-Raphaelite heroines is not fortuitous. Central to Shearer's work is his ongoing compilation of an archive of thousands of images culled from magazines, songs and the internet. In his paintings, text-based works, sculptures and photographic compilations, these sources function generatively as they are combined and recycled across his works. By showing us aspects of popular culture anachronistically, Shearer exposes the false hierarchy of high and low art and prompts us to consider the differences between the cultural industries and the art world.</p>

Steven Shearer: Exhume to Consume (English, French and Italian Edition)

Arts & Photography

Drouin-Brisebois, Josée

History & Criticism

Natl Gallery of Canada

<p>For the last four decades Chris Cran has experimented with traditional genres of painting such as still life and portraiture while at the same time challenging preconceived notions of these genres by creating tensions between a wide range of discordant styles notably Op Art, Pop Art, Photo-realism and Modernist Abstraction. He further complicates the experience with trompe l’oeil compositions in which the appearance of an image belies the method of its creation so that works that appear to be photographs, reliefs, or prints have been in fact rendered with paint. Art historical references, spoofs of painting conventions, and images from pulp magazines of the 1950s and 1960s are layered throughout, resulting in works that exude a rare and unapologetic boldness. Yet underneath the multitude of styles, techniques and a slippery sense of humor lies an insatiable appetite for experimenting with ideas that captivate the intellect and imagination, often those surrounding conventions of perception, artifice, theatricality and the art experience. Cran’s work is proof that painting has not lost its power to be a dynamic, disruptive medium that can exist in a critical relationship to the world. Chris Cran has been exhibiting across the country since the late 1970s and his work is included in numerous private and public collections, among them the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Alberta. Cran has an active presence in Canada and specifically in Alberta where he has influenced a generation of artists at the Alberta College of Art and Design. He lives and works in Calgary. </p>

Chris Cran: Sincerely Yours

Wood, William

McCulloch, Bruce

Tousley, Nancy

Doherty, Ryan

Otherworld Uprising is the first major monograph for Toronto-based Shary Boyle, who is becoming known for her uncanny and exquisite porcelain figurines that skillfully subvert the historical expectations inherent to this traditional material. Boyle's multifaceted practice also includes figurative drawing, painting and performances that give voice to the under-represented--children, animals and women--while also taking on aspects of the spiritual and the metaphysical. Through dream-like references to mythology and fairytales, her imagery illustrates female desire from a female point of view. Boyle is also known for her multi-layered audio-visual performances, during which she does live drawings on an overhead projector. Many of these have been incorporated into shows by musicians such as Feist, Peaches, Christine Fellows and Will Oldham. This volume contains new stories by novelist Sheila Heti, illustrated by Boyle, as well as texts by the Curator of Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Canada, Josée Drouin-Brisebois, and Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Ben Portis.

Shary Boyle: Otherworld Uprising

Heti, Sheila

Portis, Ben

Individual Artists

Conundrum Press

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