4to. pp. xi, 180. profusely illustrated. bibliography. boards. dw. Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre [in association with] The Art Gallery of Ontario, [1998].
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Betty Goodwin is one of Canada's most accomplished and influential artists, and her powerful works about death, loss and the traces of life have influenced a generation of Canadian artists. "Her work is not a catalogue of distress," Anne Michaels writes, but "a record of hope in its most distilled form, potent and fiercely earned." To celebrate a career that spans more than fifty years, this beautifully produced book presents Goodwin's most important work as well as many early paintings and prints published for the first time.
Born in 1923 in Montreal, Betty Goodwin is largely self-taught and made her breakthrough as a leading Canadian artist in the early 1970s. She uses various media and techniques, from etching to installation, to investigate the being and presence of the human body. Her work is in the collection of many public art institutions in Canada and has been exhibited internationally, most notably at the 1989 Sao Paulo Biennale. Recognitions of her achievement include the Paul-Emile Borduas ward, a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation fellowship, the Gershon Iskowitz Prize and three honorary doctorates.
In the introduction, Anne Michaels links the intense experience of looking at Goodwin's work to the paradox of disappearance and materialization. Matthew Teitelbaum's essay traces the thematic developments in Goodwin's early work, specifically addressing the place of mourning in her art, and Jessica Bradley's conversation with Goodwin sheds new light on the artist's process. Robert Racine's afterword offers a personal reflection on Goodwin's achievement, and Anne-Marie Ninacs' chronology presents many new biographical facts on the artist's work and life.