A CBC New Brunswick Book List Selection"The same stage, but different actors," explains Wilson. "There is something interesting to me about separating people from their environment, about keeping the focus on the individual."James Wilson's studio portraits capture subjects from all walks of life. They document soldiers and street people, builders and bakers, artists and labourers. There is an intimate intensity in his photographs, which together form a timeless collage of life and faces from the early twenty-first century.Wilson's portraits are also the product of a purposeful gaze, distinctive observations in black-and-white. All window-lit, all photographed in his studio, all with the same black background, these photographic portraits open a door into the worlds and at times the unguarded emotions of the individual subjects.James Wilson: Social Studies accompanies an exhibition that will open at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, NB, in June 2020.

The Micmac Indian Craftsmen of Elsipogtog (then known as Big Cove) rose to national prominence in the early 1960s. At their peak, they were featured in print media from coast to coast, their work was included in books and exhibitions -- including at Expo 67 -- and their designs were featured on prints, silkscreened notecards, jewellery, tapestries, and even English porcelain. Primarily self-taught and deeply rooted in their community, they were among the first modern Indigenous artists in Atlantic Canada. Inspired by traditional Wabanaki stories, they produced an eclectic range of handmade objects that were sophisticated, profound, and eloquent. By 1966, the withdrawal of government support compromised the Craftsmen's resources, production soon ceased, and their work faded from memory. Now, for the first time, the story of this ground-breaking co-operative and their art is told in full. Accompanying a major exhibition at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery opening in 2022, Wabanaki Modern features essays on the history of this vibrant art workshop, archival photographs of the artisans, and stunning full-colour images of their art.

A CBC New Brunswick Book List Selection"I start with an original object, break it, and transform parts of the piece into other materials. These pieces gather meaning and explanation as I work with them."Peter Powning is simultaneously referred to as a sculptor and a ceramist, but his art does not fit easy categorization, incorporating and combining elements from one medium into another. His work challenges the viewer to reconsider the object, its form, and its function. This inventiveness has resulted in numerous exhibitions, awards, and commissions for public art sculptures throughout Canada.Featuring 175 full-colour images of Powning's work along with essays by curators and critics, Peter Powning celebrates the career of one of Canada's finest visual artists and accompanies a major retrospective exhibition organized by the Beaverbrook Art Gallery.