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THREE ARTISTS: KURELEK, CHAMBERS & CURNOE In three extensive essays, Herman Goodden recounts the lives and appraises the work and impact of three giants of Canadian 20th century art, William Kurelek (1927-77), Jack Chambers (1931-78) and Greg Curnoe (1936-92). Biographical Art Criticism / Elmwood Publications / 2016 / Layout, design and cover image: Kirtley Jarvis / Illustrated with 12 full-colour reproductions of paintings by William Kurelek, Jack Chambers and Greg Curnoe including Greg Curnoe: Myself Walking North in the Tweed Coat | Jack Chambers: 401 Towards London No. 1 | William Kurelek: In the Autumn of Life. Paperback, 6" x 9", 257 pp. REVIEWS "Herman Goodden has written a superb collection of essays that significantly enhances our understanding of three notable Canadian artists – William Kurelek, Jack Chambers and Greg Curnoe – and has done so in a tremendously entertaining and literate manner. What is most striking about this collection is the fine balance that he has struck in presenting how the personal and the professional, and the commonplace and the spiritual, were woven together and played out in the lives of these remarkable individuals." - Brian Meehan, Executive Director & Chief Curator, Museum London "In a time when media have generalized and homogenized human experience, each of the subjects of this book found a place, a location, a strand of continuity or orientation; which Herman Goodden understands because he has lived it himself. And each came to it through circumstances over which he had, for all his wilfulness, little control . . . Goodden has painted for us these three portraits, better than any conventional biographies. His portraits can be ruthless and surgical, in moments; but he is always presenting a whole character, never a placard or silhouette." - David Warren, essayist, Idleness and Catholic Thing Opposition Surmounted to Pursue Art
"Drawing upon the available secondary literature as well as interviews and, especially with Greg Curnoe, his own memories, Herman Goodden offers insight into the influences which contributed to the distinctive styles of each artist." - Susan Brown, Cathedral Connections Continue Reading . . . New book chronicles Canadian artists’ lives of faith and search for meaning "If you think of artists as strange, unbalanced, complicated personalities whose natural habitat is somewhere on the margins, Herman Goodden is not about to change your opinion. But if you think books about art and artists are dull, academic, jargon-laden wastes of time, paper and ink, Goodden wants you to think again." - Michael Swan, The Catholic Register Continue Reading . . . |
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ELMWOOD PUBLICATIONS is a small proprietorship operated by a Southwestern Ontario business man and lawyer. It was established in 1998 in response to the difficulties gifted writers were experiencing in having deserving literary works put to press. It has limited its production to books of short stories, essays, and biography. Its name is emblematic of its raison d’être: in myth, a symbol of paradise; in nature, a setting of solitude, recreation, and reflection; and in art, depicted as sentinels which witness the drama of human affairs.
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