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RBC New Works Publications
The RBC New Works Gallery features new artworks by Alberta artists. Initiated in 1998 and named the RBC New Works Gallery in 2008, this gallery space continues the Art Gallery of Alberta’s tradition of supporting Alberta artists. Presented with the support of the RBC Emerging Artists Project.
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2021
Cornelia Hahn Oberlander Genius Loci
Price: $25. Cornelia Hahn Oberlander Genius Loci explores the work of the Canadian landscape architect who from the 1950s until present has revealed new means of understanding the human connection to the natural environment. Curated by Amery Calvelli and Dr. Hilary Letwin. Published in conjunction with the exhibition, Cornelia Hahn Oberlander Genius Loci , June 19 – October 17, 2021. ISBN 978-1-77179-036-9
2020
borderLINE Biennial of Contemporary Art
Price: $25 Featuring 38 artists and collectives across two provinces and five treaty territories, borderLINE calls attention to how borders are defined, who can enforce them, and what is confined by their limits. Organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta and Remai Modern, and curated by Sandra Fraser, Felicia Gay, Franchesca Hebert-Spence and Lindsey Sharman. Published in conjunction with the exhibition, borderLINE Biennial of Contemporary Art, September 26, 2020 – January 3, 2021. ISBN 978-1-77179-034-5
2019
Rebellious Alberta Women Artists in the 1980s
Price: $40. Alberta women artists responded to the 1980s with rebellion, provocation and activism. This exhibition reveals the shifting mores of one of the most tumultuous decades in Alberta’s history and includes work by some of the most influential Alberta artists of the 1980s who continue to shape Canadian art. These artists pushed boundaries with their methods of working, their subject matter, and by expanding the ways in which one could be an artist. Utilizing a range of tactics from satire and humour to social critique these artists exposed and worked against established artistic and societal conventions alike. This exhibition featuring the works of Alberta women artists of the 1980s, who significantly contributed to the contemporary landscape of Alberta art was organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta and curated by Lindsey Sharman. Published in conjunction with the exhibition, Rebellious, November 9, 2019 – February 16, 2020. ISBN 978-1-77179-033-8
2018
Peter von Thiesenhausen: Songs for Pythagoras
Price: $80. For Peter von Tiesenhausen, the landscape of Alberta has been a primary source of inspiration, with sustainability being a constant thread that has woven its way through his work over the course of his long career. Addressing ideas of time, life, nature and re-generation, this new exhibition will engage audiences with important issues related to extraction, production and our impact on the environment. Organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta. Curated by Catherine Crowston. Published in conjunction with the exhibition, Peter von Tiesenhausen: Songs for Pythagoras, January 27 – April 29, 2018. ISBN 978-1-77179-027-7
2017
Faye HeavyShield: Calling Stones
Price: $20.Calling Stones (Conversations) presents a new body of work by Alberta artist Faye HeavyShield. Continuing a long practice of combining drawing, photography, sculpture and video, HeavyShield’s multi-disciplinary work often takes the form of circles, spirals, grids and lines, recalling the bonds of families and the gathering of communities. Drawing inspiration from her visits to the Majorville Medicine Wheel (Iniskim Umaapi) in southern Alberta and the stories of her ancestors rooted there, HeavyShield’s new work provides both a personal and conceptual connection to the past, linking generations of Indigenous peoples to the present lives of the Kainai people. Organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta. Curated by Catherine Crowston. Published in conjunction with the exhibition, Faye HeavyShield: Calling Stones, October 28, 2017 – February 19, 2018. ISBN 978-1-77179-025-3
for the time being – 2017 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art
Price: $28 for the time being: 2017 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art approaches the political implications of self-organization and wayfinding in new and unknown territories, that may or may not be visible. Spread over two sites—here at the Art Gallery of Alberta and at Banff Centre’s Walter Phillips Gallery—the Alberta Biennial investigates the distribution of wealth and labour through the provisional practices of 24 artists from across the province. In conversation with the artists, the curators acknowledged common threads that emerged relating to interstitiality and site—albeit physical or virtual—and a preoccupation with language and echoes, that reflect the way in which artists see reverberations within larger discourses in their communities. Organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Curated by Kristy Trinier and Peta Rake. Published in conjunction with the exhibition, For the Time Being – 2017 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art, May 27 – September 10, 2017. ISBN 978-1-77179-023-9
2016
Damian Moppett + Ron Moppett (Every Story Has Two Sides)
Price: $40. This new exhibition brings together the work of two renowned contemporary Canadian artists – Damian Moppett and Ron Moppett. Exploring the commonalities and intersections of their artistic practices, the exhibition examines a shared interest in mining the history of art; the artist’s use of strategies of assemblage and collage that are both modes of production and historical references; and how each of them interprets and represents the artist and the studio as both creative subjects and sites. Organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta. Curated by Catherine Crowston. Published in conjunction with the exhibition, Damian Moppett + Ron Moppett (Every Story Has Two Sides), September 17, 2016 – January 8, 2017. ISBN 978-1-77179-020-8
A Parallel Excavation: Diane Linklater & Tanya Lukin Linklater
Price: $18. Duane Linklater investigates the structure and materiality of the wall itself including gypsum, wood and steel, while considering the political implications of those materials as resources extracted in Canada. The connection of gypsum, wood and steel as supporting substances lying between the gallery’s institutional structure and its public becomes a site of mediation for Linklater. In his exploration of these materials the artist questions what is revealed during excavation: “How do we, as Indigenous artists articulate, disfigure or blur the outcomes of an excavation particularly in the gallery or museum space so we can see or sense the tones of certain relationships?” Organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta. Curated by Ociciwan. Published in conjunction with the exhibition, A Parallel Excavation: Duane Linklater & Tanya Lukin Linklater, April 30 – September 18, 2016. ISBN 978-1-77179-017-8
2015
Rough Country: The Strangely Familiar in Mid – 20th Century Alberta Art
Price: $25. Throughout the exhibition Rough Country, the world is not depicted as it objectively appears. In the featured artworks, everyday or even banal subject matter become strangely familiar – altered by the artist’s emotional and subjective response. With this focus, this exhibition considers the resonance of expressionism in the artistic practice of five Alberta artists: Maxwell Bates, Laura Evans Reid, John Snow, W.L. Stevenson and Dorothy Henzell Willis. Evocative of the postwar social climate, the perspective these artists offer can be unsettling, sometimes uncanny or even downright disturbing. All born before 1918, they bring a perspective of the province and its people that belies the myth of Alberta as a land of prosperity and simple beauty. With an impassioned approach to their subject matter, their works are beautifully composed; executed with strong colours and distorted space, as well as other features associated with expressionism. Organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta and presented by Westmorland Coal Company. Co-curated by Ruth Burns and Mary-Beth Laviolette. Published in conjunction with the exhibition, Rough Country: The Strangely Familiar in Mid – 20th Century Alberta Art, October 3, 2015 – January 31, 2016. ISBN: 978-1-77179-019-2
2014
Lyndal Osborne Bowerbird: Life As Art
Price: $25 Lyndal Osborne Bowerbird: Life as Art is a survey exhibition of the work of Edmonton artist Lyndal Osborne. The exhibition traces the almost 40-year career of this nationally renowned artist, starting with early print works from the mid-1970s to the complex, multi-component installations of the present day. Curated by Catherine Crowston | Essays by David Garneau and Melinda Pinfold Published in conjunction with the exhibition, Bowerbird: Life as Art February 1–April 27, 2014. ISBN 9781771790048 Softcover | 68 pp | 40 color photographs2013
The Piano
Price: $25 Visual artists have approached the piano in non-traditional and unconventional ways, often continuing the experimental and iconoclastic tendencies of the early musical avant-garde and the work of musicians such as Erik Satie and John Cage. The exhibition, The Piano, featured sculptures, performances and video installations by Canadian and international artists that have been produced over the last few decades, including works by: Stan Douglas, Rodney Graham, Tim Lee, George Maciunas, Katie Paterson, Michael Snow and more. Curated by Barbara Fischer and Catherine Crowston | Essays by Diedrich Diederichsen and William Wood Published in conjunction with the exhibition, The Piano May 25 – August 18, 2013. ISBN 978-1-77179-7
The News From Here: The 2013 Biennial of Contemporary Art
Price: $15 THE NEWS FROM HERE: The 2013 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art represents the diversity of Alberta’s contemporary art practices and investigations, and provides a framework through which we can see how contemporary art is shaped by and shapes different perceptions of time and place. The exhibition has been curated by long-time Alberta resident, Nancy Tousley, who has watched and documented the Alberta art community since the late 1970s, making an immense contribution to our knowledge and understanding of art in the province as well as beyond. ISBN 978-0-88950-170-62012
Misled by Nature: Contemporary Art and the Baroque
Price: $20 With a focus on six international contemporary artists who emphasize material excess, ornamentation and theatricality in their production, Misled by Nature: Contemporary Art and the Baroque features spectacular installations that explore hybridity, natural processes and the viewer’s experience. Introduction by: Catherine Crowston, Josée Drouin-Brisebois and Jonathan Shaughnessy Essays by Josée Drouin-Brisebois and Jonathan Shaughnessy The catalogue was published by the National Gallery of Canada to accompany an exhibition curated by Catherine Crowston, Josée Drouin-Brisebois and Jonathan Shaughnessy and produced by the Art Gallery of Alberta as part of the National Gallery of Canada at the Art Gallery of Alberta series (September 15, 2012 – January 6, 2013). ISBN 978-0-88884-907-6 Languages: French and English Softcover | 72 pages
Traffic: Conceptual Art in Canada, 1965-1980
Price: $55 Introduction by: Grant Arnold, Vincent Bonin, Catherine Crowston, Barbara Fischer, Michèle Thériault, Jayne Wark. Essays by Jayne Walk, Vincent Bonin, William Wood, Catherine Crowston and Grant Arnold. With a conversation between Blair French, Lucy Lippard, Chantal Pontriand, Mari Carmen Ramírez, Charlotte Townsend-Gault moderated by Jeff Khonsary, and an annotated chronology of conceptualism in Canada compiled by Vincent Bonin and Grant Arnold. Edited by Grant Arnold and Karen Henry. Published by the Art Gallery of Alberta, Halifax INK, Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery and the Vancouver Art Gallery, 2012. ISBN: 978-1-895442-88-5 Hard cover | 176 pp | Available in French and English
Alberta Mistresses of the Modern: 1935–1975
Price: $40 Alberta Mistresses of the Modern: 1935-1975 sheds light on the establishment of modernism in the province of Alberta and reveals the fundamental role that women artists played in the development of early forms of abstraction. Living largely in Edmonton and Calgary, these artists were a pioneering generation of women artists, helping to sow Alberta’s strong cultural roots and building the vibrant visual arts community that has come to characterize our province today. Published in conjunction with the exhibition, Alberta Mistresses of the Modern: 1935-1975. Curated by Mary-Beth Laviolette and presented at the Art Gallery of Alberta, 10 March–3 June, 2012.ISBN 978-0-88950-164-5 Hardcover | 80 pp | 27 colour and 15 black and white photographs
2011
REARVIEW MIRROR: New Art from Central & Eastern Europe
Price: $45 REARVIEW MIRROR: New Art from Central & Eastern Europe is a large thematic exhibition that brings together the work of a new generation of artists from Central and Eastern Europe. Looking both to the past and to the future, the works by the 22 artists in the exhibition engage post-conceptual strategies and forms, and collectively challenge accepted notions of Eastern Europe as a social, political and art historical monolith. Published in conjunction with the exhibition REARVIEW MIRROR: New Art from Central & Eastern Europe, curated by Christopher Eamon and co-presented by the Art Gallery of Alberta (January 28 – April 29, 2012) and The Power Plant, Toronto (July 1 – September 5, 2011). ISBN 978-0-88950-160-7 28.7 x 23.7 cm Hardcover | 99pp | 22 colour & 12 black and white photographs
BRIAN JUNGEN: Carapace
Price: $40 Signed and numbered special edition of 200: $200 BRIAN JUNGEN: Carapace documents one of Brian Jungen’s largest works, Carapace. Initially created in early 2009 for the FRAC des Pays de la Loire, France, Jungen then completely reconfigured Carapace for his solo exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, in the summer of 2010. In January 2011, for the Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, Jungen created a new and ultimately final configuration of Carapace. Following the close of the exhibition, the plastic recycling bins that were used to construct Carapace were re-formed into slipcovers for the special edition of the publication. A limited edition of 200 books (signed, numbered and with recycled plastic slipcovers) will be available.
Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller: The Murder of Crows
Price: $60 (includes installation DVD) Featuring artists' Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller and their explorations into the experience of the sculptural and physical qualities of sounds. This 98 speaker sound and mixed-media installation explores trauma – both collective and personal – through a sequence of narrative fragments tied together by recorded music, song, voices and other sounds. The Murder of Crows publication was produced to complement an exhibition at the Art Gallery of Alberta, January 29 – May 9, 2010. Includes text Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev and a DVD. ISBN 978-3-7757-3177-5 17 x 23.5 cm Hardcover | 111 pp
Art Gallery of Alberta: Randall Stout Architects
Price: $55 The book documents the various stages of the construction of the new Art Gallery of Alberta building, designed by Randall Stout Architects. Structured in reverse chronology, the book begins with the final built structure, and moves back in time through construction, design, inspiration and ends with a brief history of the Art Gallery of Alberta prior to the move to its new home in 2010. The book also features a special photo essay by renowned Canadian artist Edward Burtynsky, commissioned by the AGA at the beginning of construction in 2008. This book elucidates some of the complexity of the new Art Gallery of Alberta and its construction, revealing how words and ideas became a building. ISBN 978-0-88950-152-2 183pp | 102 colour & 22 black and white photographsSelect Publications 2001-2010
Timeland
Price: $10 “Timeland” speaks to a geography of the past and the future, the old and new. As a theme for the 2010 edition of the Alberta Biennial, curated by Canadian Art Editor and independent curator Richard Rhodes, it is also a conceptual guide for an exhibition that blends both emerging and established generations of artists to create a snapshot of the vitality of the contemporary Alberta art scene. ISBN 978-0-88950-153-9 Softcover | 77 pp | 23 colour photographs
Polaroids: Attila Richard Lukacs and Michael Morris
Price: $60 A co-publication between Arsenal Pulp Press, Presentation House Gallery of North Vancouver, and the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton, this will be the first book to document the work of this important artist, from an unusual perspective―a collection of some 1,200 full-colour Polaroid images (twelve per page) taken by Lukacs over the past twenty years as core referents for his paintings, assembled and collaged by Vancouver artist and curator Michael Morris. The book will feature essays by award-winning author Michael Turner (Hard Core Logo, The Pornographer's Poem); Scott Watson, director of the Morris & Helen Belkin Gallery in Vancouver; and Vince Aletti, the American curator, critic, and journalist. Stunning and bold, Polaroids: Attila Richard Lukacs and Michael Morris is a remarkable visual and written document on Lukacs, one of Canada's greatest artists working today, and his unique collaboration with Morris, a hugely important artist in his own right. ISBN 978-1-55152-295-1 Hardcover | 176 pp | 1,200 colour photographs
KOSHASHIN: The Hall Collection of 19th Century Photographs of Japan
Price: $35 In the decades following the invention of photography in 1839, European photographers traveled to Asia, documenting cultures and landscapes with a realism previously unknown. Employing cumbersome large format cameras and delicate paper or glass plate negatives, these intrepid photographers captured the first images of Japan after it had been closed to the West for over 200 years. A distinctive style of photography developed in Japan. Koshashin (Japanese for ‘old photography’) features a selection of over 200 of these delicately hand-coloured albumen prints by photographers such as: Raimund von Stillfried, Felice Beato, Uchida Kuichi and Kusakabe Kimbei. This exhibition explores this remarkable period in photography, when Japanese culture was represented to the west. The works are drawn from The Hall Collection, an Edmonton private collection that is one of the largest private collections of these images in the world. ISBN 978-1-55152-295-1 Hardcover | 176 pp | 1,200 colour photographs
Sylvain Voyer
Price: $20 A survey of the work of this senior Albertan artist, from 1954 to the present. Produced to accompany an exhibition curated by Marcus Miller and presented by the Art Gallery of Alberta (January 17–March 22, 2009). Essays by John Geiger and Marcus Miller. ISBN 978-0-88950-150-8 21.5 x 21.5 cm Paperback | 64 pp | 63 colour and 5 B&W photographs
Face the Nation
Price: $10 Featuring a selection of 8 contemporary artists from across Canada: K.C. Adams, Lori Blondeau, Dana Claxton, Terrance Houle, Maria Hupfield, Kent Monkman, Adrian Stimson and Jeff Thomas, whose works address issues of history, representation and identity, and the important role that art plays in creating, reinforcing and also undermining myths and stereotypes of people and cultures. Produced to accompany an exhibition curated by Catherine Crowston and presented by the Art Gallery of Alberta (June 21 – September 21, 2008). Essay by Ryan Rice ISBN 978-0-88950-149-2 21.5 x 21.5 cm Paperback | 68 pp | 37 colour and 13 B&W photographs
Seeing Through Modernism: Edmonton 1970 – 1985
Price: $10 This publication examines the people and ideas that shaped the Edmonton art community in the 1970s and early 1980s and traces the important links and divergences between The Edmonton Art Gallery (now the Art gallery of Alberta) and the University of Alberta during these years, which continue to be felt today. Produced to accompany an exhibition curated by Anne Whitelaw and presented by the Art Gallery of Alberta at the AGA and the Fine Arts Building Gallery, University of Alberta (March 1– May 31, 2008). ISBN 978-0-88950-148-5 21.5 x 21.5 cm Paperback | 65 pp | 25 colour and 10 B&W photographs
Generation
Price: $10 Features 9 contemporary artists from Canada and the United States (Daniel Barrow, Anthony Goicolea, Eliza Griffiths, Justine Kurland, Kyla Mallett, Alex Morrison, Demian Petryshyn, Jeremy Shaw and Janet Werner, whose work investigates the images, ideals and anxieties of North American youth. Produced to accompany an exhibition curated by Catherine Crowston and presented by the Art Gallery of Alberta (January 18 – March 24, 2008). Essay by Catherine Crowston ISBN 978-0-88950-147-8 21.5 x 21.5 cm Paperback | 54 pp | 58 colour and 4 B&W photographs
The 2007 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art: Living Utopia and Disaster
Price: $10 Featuring the work of 22 Alberta artists, this publication was produced to complement an exhibition curated by Catherine Crowston and Sylvie Gilbert and co-presented by the Art Gallery of Alberta and the Walter Phillips Gallery at the Banff Centre (June 23, 2007 – January 6, 2008). Essay by Donna Brunsdale and Gary Burns The catalogue also Includes a special section In celebration of the work of Alex Janvier, curated by Donna Wawzonek and presented by the Art Gallery of Calgary (August 31, 2007 – January 6, 2008). Essay by Donna Wawzonek ISBN 978-0-88950-146-1 21.5 x 21.5 cm Paperback | 79 pp | 63 colour photographs
China Sensation: New Art from Chengdu
Price: $20 Featuring the work of 22 artists from Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan, in the People’s Republic of China. This publication was produced to accompany an exhibition presented by the Art Gallery of Alberta and the Chengdu Profound Culture Promoting Co., Ltd., (April 13 – June 10, 2007). ISBN 0-88950-144-0 25.5 x 25.5 cm Hardcover | 53pp | 39 colour and 2 B&W photographs
The Road: Constructing the Alaska Highway
Price: $40 Visual impressions of the Alaska Highway from its construction during World War II to the presented day, by artists, photographers and filmmakers. This publication was produced to accompany a national touring exhibition, curated by Catherine Crowston and Andrew Hunter, and presented by the Art Gallery of Alberta (June 10, 2005–June 11, 2006). History by Kenneth Coates . Essays by Andrew Hunter and Catherine Crowston ISBN 978-0-88950-143-0 25 x 20.3 cm Paperback | 159pp | 96 colour and 63 B&W photographs
Rob, Terry and Tom O’Flanagan: Field Notes
Price: $10 Catalogue of an exhibition held at The Edmonton Art Gallery (March 5, 2004 – June 6, 2004). Foreword by Catherine Crowston. Essay by Sky Glabush ISBN 0-88950-139-4 26.7 x 20.3 cm Paperback | 40pp | 21 colour illustrations
Maxwell Bates: A Canadian Expressionist
Price: $10 Catalogue of an exhibition held at The Edmonton Art Gallery (February 21 – April 18, 2004). Foreword by Catherine Crowston Introduction by David P. Silcox. Essays by Robin Skelton and Michael Morris ISBN 0-88950-141-6 26.5 x 19.25 cm Paperback | 127pp | 78 colour illustrations
The Other Landscape
Price: $10 Catalogue of an exhibition curated by Andrew Hunter and presented at The Edmonton Art Gallery (October 17, 2003 – February 1, 2004). Text and design by Andrew Hunter ISBN 0-88950-137-8 20.0 x 15.0 cm | Paperback | 70pp | 68 illustrations, 45 in colour