Kendall Jenner & Bad Bunny closed down the Louvre for a date
And more art news 😘
This week’s newsletter has three parts:
Art news
A shoutout to everyone who emailed me about their work after last week’s newsletter
A blurb from a Toronto Star article I wrote
ART NEWS
Thanks to the estate of Jean Michel Basquiat, you can now pick up Basquiat merch at H&M. I have no clue why they would agree to this when there’s already so much knock-off clothing. It reminds me of when the Frida Kahlo estate licensed a Barbie and nail polish line. I will admit some of the pieces are cool….
Chloe launched a new art initiative. Danish artist Mie Olise Kjærgaard is very good fit for this and perfectly “on brand” for Chloe (as in sporty, contemporary, with a slight edge). I feel like Chloe is taking a page from The Row, which centers art and curation in its world-building to great success. If you’re a brand that wants to do something similar, CALL ME.
5. Mie Olise Kjærgaard Blue Steel, 2024 Acrylic on canvas 170 x 190 centimeters (via Chloe) DeSantis Vetoes All Arts Grants in Florida. Boo! Gift Link to NY Times article on this decision. I first heard of the axe to all their art programs right after the Oilers lost. Needless to say, I’m not feeling warmly towards Florida right now.
There’s no way to capture the complexities of my thoughts on this story in a newsletter. I hate censorship, and I hate allegations of sexual assault. Is it censorship though, or is it consequences? I’ll come back to this at a later date.
Cute and wow. I had no clue the Louvre would close down for a private date.
An important and touching story about the return of a Matisse painting to the family of Albert Stern, who died in the Holocaust. I would love to see more coverage about this in the coming months. Where will they hang the painting? What does this mean for other families who had work stolen from them? Often, when I read stories of repatriation, it’s framed as a loss. I’m happy that this story includes so many quotes from the family on what it means to get this painting back.
Thank you to all the artists who messaged me about your exhibitions last week!
There’s a solo exhibition of Vanessa McKernan’s paintings at Spence Gallery. I’m a fan of the Fauvism vibes.
In Quidi Vidi Village Artisan Studios, Troy Mitchell has pieces of embossed metals and copper sculpture that perfectly match the geography. Newfoundland is one of my favourite places in Canada—I highly recommend a visit!
Start planning for September: Jane Everett's exhibition Raindance opens at Ingram Gallery in Toronto on September 7th. She sent me a sneak peek of the work, which is beautiful.
These paintings by Murray Siple are haunting in the best way. He is also a very talented writer, as seen in his artist statement and bio. “Faced with the challenges of limited hand dexterity and reliance on a wheelchair while living on a rural island, Siple navigates these complexities with a spirit of defiance and unyielding creativity. This constrained access to the environment becomes Siple's unexpected muse, opening doors to discovering beauty and narratives in places others might overlook or undervalue.”
Frances Ferdinands has a solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Northumberland until the end of the month. The gallery has a few great exhibitions right now; it’s worth the trip!
At James Rottman Fine Art, a group exhibition explores collage as a feminist medium.
A sincere thank you to anyone who emails me about your art or exhibitions! I read every email I get (and try to reply to all, although I know I miss a few).
Last weekend in the Toronto Star ⭐️
Thank you to the Toronto Star for asking me about art in Toronto that people might not know about but should visit. It made me sit down and really think about all the art I pass in my daily life. And thank you to everyone who chatted with me about their favourite pieces in the city—I learned about a few pieces I otherwise didn’t know about.
Here’s the intro:
There are things in life that we mistakenly assume are permanent, like art and architecture. It’s understandable. Artworks and the places that house them can seem so steadfast it’s easy to take them for granted. But that’s a mistake. The truth is nothing is permanent. Everything is ephemeral.
That’s part of what makes the recent fire at St. Anne’s church so devastating; we assumed it would be there forever. The fire, which broke out on the morning of June 9th, gutted a unique neo-Byzantine treasure, modeled after the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, and destroyed an irreplaceable set of Group of Seven murals, by, J.E.H. MacDonald, Frank Carmichael and Frederick H. Varley. To look at them, you had to look up and rotate — a physical manifestation of awe.
In posts about the fire online, I saw a trend. People had walked by the church often and wanted to enter, but they never did. They felt a pang of loss for something not just gone, but also never seen. I felt similarly — I grew up in Toronto and have been an art writer for more than a decade, and I never walked through the doors of St. Anne’s.
Tragedy can alert us to the impermanent nature of life and the necessity of experiencing things while we can. It can be a prompt and an excuse, to go inside instead of simply walking by.
In Toronto, art is everywhere, often in surprising places with beautiful backstories and rich histories. Below is a list of some of the greatest hidden art treasures in the city. Let the St. Anne’s fire be your excuse to see them now, while you can. They may feel permanent, but as the St. Anne's fire showed us, nothing truly is. Construction happens, buildings sell, and sometimes, as at St. Anne's, the unthinkable occurs.
I’ve been writing about art and censorship the past couple weeks (coming out this weekend) 😉
I love this (excited about the toronto star article) even if the headline story crushes me 💔