Cover of Five Manifestos for a beautiful World. The cover is a midtone blue, with two off-set black half-circles on it. The title and authors are written in white text on the black shapes.

Five Manifestos for the Beautiful World by Phoebe Bosewell, Saidiya Hartman,  Janaína Oliveira, Joseph M. Pierce, and Cristina Rivera Garza, with an introduction by Christina Sharpe

Hosted at York University, the free,  public events gather writers, artists, and thinkers from various disciplines and geographies to discuss the most pressing issues of our time. The insights shared at the live and streamed events are later transcribed and expanded in artful books published by Alchemy, a Knopf Canada publishing program, in collaboration with York University.

Mary Pratt: A Love Affair with Vision by Anne Koval

To gaze upon Mary Pratt’s work is to come face-to-face with another world, one that is brighter, more keenly observant, and more knowing, for embedded in the fractal structures of her oft chosen subjects: glass, aluminum, and plastic wrap, are reflections of time and space.

Throwback: Tom Thomson: North Star by Sarah Milroy & Ian A.C. Dejardin

Tom Thomson, one such artist and adventurer, lived and worked in the park during his short, but prolific career, and it is his life’s work that is so exceptionally curated in the McMichael Gallery’s North Star exposition and its accompanying exposition catalog, published by Goose Lane Editions.

Cover of ackson’s Wars: A. Y. Jackson, the Birth of the Group of Seven, and the Great War by Douglas Hunter. Shows one of Jackson's paintings.

Throwback: Hard, Clear Sunlight: The Rise of a Distinctly Canadian School of Art Out of the Devastation of WWI — Jackson’s Wars: A. Y. Jackson, the Birth of the Group of Seven, and the Great War by Douglas Hunter

The impacts of lived experiences in the totality of misery and death along the Western Front were enduring and consequently reflected in their art. Douglas Hunter’s biography Jackson’s Wars: A. Y. Jackson, the Birth of the Group of Seven, and the Great War explores the impacts of World War I on A. Y. Jackson and the Group of Seven in shaping their vision of a distinctly Canadian School of painting.

A navy blue background with folk images and small trinkets scattered about. The title and author's name are at the centre of the image, in large yellow letters.

Nova Scotia Folk Art: An Illustrated Guide by Ray Cronin

In former Art Gallery of Nova Scotia curator Ray Cronin’s Nova Scotia Folk Art, the works of 50 contemporary folk artists are shared across “waves,” or phases of trends and styles over time. In lieu of not being able to visit this art gallery in person, this guide presents a stunning illustrated overview of folk art that found their way from one’s home to museum showcase.

A black cover with an image of wooden wall sculptures in the centre. The author's name is above the image on the black background, and the title is underneath the image on the black background.

Pictures on the Wall: Building a Canadian Art Collection by Michael Audain

Pictures on the Wall: Building a Canadian Art Collection is an interesting kind of coffee table book: heavy with weighty paper and beautiful pictures, but also a memoir of a life spent admiring art, pursuing art, and most interesting – repatriating art.

A close up look at part of an oil painting of a purple flower. Part of a stem and some petals can be seen. The background is in earthy neutral tones. The title and authors' names are at the bottom of the image in white text.

Up Close With a Canvas

“…art has a world of her own where science is not so absolute.” J.E.H. MacDonald (circa 1925), as cited in J.E.H. MacDonald Up Close: The Artist’s Materials and Techniques. Yet science does shine, as Kate Helwig and Alison Douglas escort the reader through the many layers that make up a sampling of J.E.H. MacDonald’s iconic …

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The David Pisani Interview

This conversation took place in July of 2023 in Châteauneuf-sur-Charente, France, in David’s studio. It has been edited for clarity. FIRST PRINCIPLES – ON DEMOCRACY – EARLY DEVELOPMENT – ON MASOCAPITALISM – ON IDENTITY – ON RELIGION – ON VICE – VANISHING VALETTA – ON INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM – ON PROCESS FIRST PRINCIPLES Kevin Andrew Heslop: …

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