Self Centred, Catharine MacTavish 2026
Co-published by Le Chauffage Press and Shmooks
Self Centred is a series of drawings and lithographs made by Catharine MacTavish between 1974 and 1979. In 1977, the drawings were compiled by Catharine’s friend and fellow artist Robert Amos into a solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria with an accompanying catalogue. The cover of this book, this introduction and the closing text by curator Salomé Burstein act as a contemporary enclosure to the interior core: a facsimile of the original catalogue edited by Amos. Aside from the addition of two late drawings and slight adjustments to detail plate crops, the core facsimile is in its sequencing, design and dimensions true to the original. The original contained no text because Amos and Catharine felt that the drawings were self-evident. Now nearly fifty years later, I feel compelled to give today’s audience insight into who Catharine MacTavish is, and especially, why despite her artistic brilliance she remains relatively unknown.
Catharine MacTavish (b. 1952) is a Canadian artist living in Toronto. Although her vast and ongoing body of work is still relatively undiscovered, early drawings and paintings are included in the collections of the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Surrey Art Gallery and the Canada Council Art Bank, to name a few. MacTavish has had solo exhibitions at the Richmond Art Gallery, the U.B.C. Fine Arts Gallery, Gallery Stratford, Mercer Union and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. She holds a BFA from York University and an MA in Religion and Culture from Wilfrid Laurier University.
Thank You
Robert Amos, Art Bank, Salomé Burstein, Sidney Gordon, John de Jesus & Coach House Press, Vince Klassen Photographic, Gary Lee-Nova, Francesca Percival, Al Razutis, Emile Rubino, Margaux Schwarz, JC Scott, Doug Seeley and Kathryn Spracklin.
Editor & Designer: Felix Rapp
Co-editor: Emile Rubino
Printed by: Coach House Press
Edition of 300
To Order:
lechauffagemag@gmail.com
20 € / 25 CAD / 22 USD + shipping
