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The long-awaited biography of one of Canada’s most intriguing and beguiling artists.
Do artists really thrive in big cities, or do they just learn to imitate New York? Is it a contradiction for an artist to be fiercely local and profoundly identified with international art movements? If the brilliant colourist and regionalist pioneer Greg Curnoe stood for any one thing, it was making trouble. An intriguing rebel throughout his life, he challenged ideas about what art should be, and pushed it in radical new directions — including away from Toronto, a city he rejected while succeeding masterfully in its galleries.
His untimely death in 1992 cut short a career of constant reinvention. This first biography of Curnoe recaptures in vivid detail the public and personal life of an iconoclast who was called a “walking autobiography,” as his work seemed to document his endless struggle against many of the core tenets of the art of his time. An anti-establishment firebrand and a fierce opponent of American dominance in Canadian culture, Curnoe, in his conceptual practice, constructed a stunning body of work that remains a hallmark in late-twentieth-century Canadian art.
Do artists really thrive in big cities, or do they just learn to imitate New York? Is it a contradiction for an artist to be fiercely local and profoundly identified with international art movements? If the brilliant colourist and regionalist pioneer Greg Curnoe stood for any one thing, it was making trouble. An intriguing rebel throughout his life, he challenged ideas about what art should be, and pushed it in radical new directions — including away from Toronto, a city he rejected while succeeding masterfully in its galleries.
His untimely death in 1992 cut short a career of constant reinvention. This first biography of Curnoe recaptures in vivid detail the public and personal life of an iconoclast who was called a “walking autobiography,” as his work seemed to document his endless struggle against many of the core tenets of the art of his time. An anti-establishment firebrand and a fierce opponent of American dominance in Canadian culture, Curnoe, in his conceptual practice, constructed a stunning body of work that remains a hallmark in late-twentieth-century Canadian art.
Price: $45.00
Pages: 392
Publisher: Dundurn Press
Imprint: Dundurn Press
Publication Date:
26 September 2017
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9781459736887
Format: Hardcover
BISACs:
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Artists, Architects, Photographers, Biography: arts & entertainment, ART / Canadian, ART / Techniques / Painting, Painting & paintings
The originality of his work, his prolific output and his astonishingly effective use of colour are examined, and a portrait emerges, in a well-researched and beautifully illustrated book, of a gifted renegade who left his mark on the Canadian art scene.
James King’s perceptive book leads the reader through Curnoe’s career, from his early interest in Dadaism to his family life, many successes, clashes with critics, and political activism.
An essential piece in the puzzle of one of the most innovative and engaging artists of the late 20th century.
James King’s perceptive book leads the reader through Curnoe’s career, from his early interest in Dadaism to his family life, many successes, clashes with critics, and political activism.
An essential piece in the puzzle of one of the most innovative and engaging artists of the late 20th century.
James King is the author of six novels and nine biographies, including books on David Milne, William Blake, Margaret Laurence, Jack McClelland, Farley Mowat, and Lawren Harris. His biography of Herbert Read, The Last Modern, was nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Award, and Inner Places, about the life of David Milne, received a Hamilton Arts Council Literary Award in 2017. A fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, James lives in Hamilton, Ontario.
List of Images
Preface
One: “Snow White’s Cottage” (1936–1949)
Two: “Curnoe’s Inferno” (1949–1956)
Three: “Gregor” (1956–1960)
Four: “No Ideas But In Things” (1960–1962)
Five: Being Tickled (1961–1964)
Six: The Vision Of Dr. Bucke (1964–1965)
Seven: Souwesto (1966)
Eight: Fracas (1967–1968)
Nine: London Calling (1968–1970)
Ten: Painting By Numbers (1969–1971)
Eleven: “A Walking Autobiography” (1971–1976)
Twelve: New Beginnings (1974–1979)
Thirteen: Never Have A Retrospective! (1980–1982)
Fourteen: What’s Good For The Goose Is Good For The Gander (1983–1988)
Fifteen: Life Interrupted (1989–1992)
Acknowledgements
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Preface
One: “Snow White’s Cottage” (1936–1949)
Two: “Curnoe’s Inferno” (1949–1956)
Three: “Gregor” (1956–1960)
Four: “No Ideas But In Things” (1960–1962)
Five: Being Tickled (1961–1964)
Six: The Vision Of Dr. Bucke (1964–1965)
Seven: Souwesto (1966)
Eight: Fracas (1967–1968)
Nine: London Calling (1968–1970)
Ten: Painting By Numbers (1969–1971)
Eleven: “A Walking Autobiography” (1971–1976)
Twelve: New Beginnings (1974–1979)
Thirteen: Never Have A Retrospective! (1980–1982)
Fourteen: What’s Good For The Goose Is Good For The Gander (1983–1988)
Fifteen: Life Interrupted (1989–1992)
Acknowledgements
Notes
Selected Bibliography