running right now which I dearly wish I could visit:

1. Anselm Kiefer at the Royal Academy in London. I have long loved his work and follow it online. I was so very lucky to see one of his shows in Munich in yr. 2000 – wow! Be sure to also visit the link to Kiefer’s astonishing 200-acre art studio! I always appreciate Jonathan Jones’ comprehensive reviews.

2. The late and great Canadian artist Alex Colville at the Art Gallery of Ontario. There is even a link to a wonderful website in his name that seems to show most of his long life’s work.

3. Hokusai at the Grand Palais in Paris, thanks to a post by Charles T. Downey of Ionarts. You know how I love printmaking and the Japanese masters.

Because I don’t travel far these days, the internet does compensate a bit. I’d love to see photos and reports from any readers that do visit any or all of these shows.

Added November 3rd, 2014: My good blog friend, artist Olga Norris went to see the Anselm Kiefer exhibition and found it monumentally visceral.

And the very next day, artist and friend Natalie d’Arbeloff wrote a superb review of Kiefer’s work along with some excellent links!

I am sooo envious.

Added November 26th, 2014: In a comment at a later post, Olga Norris mentioned an excellent and powerful review of the Kiefer exhibition, the best I’ve read about this artist. It’s by a blogger new to me and whose blog That’s How the Light Gets In looks rich in material so I have bookmarked it for further reading.

Image Credit: Rembrandt van Rijn,The Windmill, 1641,
Etching on cream laid paper, 14.7 x 20.7 cm, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa

This afternoon we visited the Burnaby Art Gallery and its two exhibitions of Dutch art, Storms and Bright Skies: Three Centuries of Dutch Landscapes and Inner Realms: Dutch Portraits.

These were mostly small drawings and etchings with some watercolours and a couple of oil paintings from the Golden Age, 1600’s to 1800’s. Very fine detailed work (magnifying glasses were on loan), really quite lovely and romantic images of the countryside and people of the day. One image of skaters on a frozen pond had husband wondering if the sticks being used were precursors to today’s hockey sticks? A few Brueghels and several Rembrandts were the highlights. Naturally all the printworks were my favourites and those of Rembrandt most superb, both landscapes and portraits including a self-portrait.

With the dim lighting calling for flash, I did not try to take photos, even were it allowed. It was surprisingly busy, as if it was an opening event, with many families taking advantage of the Sunday afternoon children’s art activities in another room. I think this kind of exhibition of traditional and historic work probably appeals to a greater number of the public than some contemporary work, do you suppose?

Here’s more about the exhibitions in the Burnaby Newsleader, with an image of Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait.

As always when we visit the BAG, afterwards we went for a walk in the lovely garden around the gallery and down to Deer Lake – photos to come tomorrow!