The Modern Woman at Vancouver Art Gallery

Edgar Degas, Standing Nude with Left Leg Raised,
Foot Resting on a Base, 1882-85
charcoal and pastel, squared, on blue vellum

The first drawing exhibition ever to travel from the Musée d’Orsay will bring works from the world’s finest collection of 19th-century French art to the Vancouver Art Gallery starting June 5. Presented are nearly 100 works by French artists such as  Degas, Gauguin, Manet, Pissaro, Renoir, Rodin, Toulouse-Lautrec, Seurat and others.  That’s an unique opportunity to see this amazing collection of works without hoping on a plane.

“What came together when selecting these drawings with Isabelle Julia (curator of the show) was how intimately and vividly the artists captured the complexity of the Belle Époque and the women who inhabited it,” said Thomas Padon, one of the exhibition’s three commissioners.

The exhibition hits town in time for Drawn, Vancouver’s drawing festival that opens its vast schedule of events July 17.

Camille Pissarro – Group of Bathers at Water’s Edge, 1894-96
gouache and pencil on silk with paper backing

Georges Seurat, The Black Bow, ca 1882, Conté crayon on paper

Edouard Manet, Portrait of Nina Villard (Madame Callias), 1873-74
gouache heightened with leadpoint on wood

The Audain Prize and Mayor Gregor Robertson

British Columbia’s most prestigious annual award for the visual arts, the Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts, and VIVA Awards was presented tonight at the Vancouver Art Gallery. The Audain Prize, awarded by the Audain Foundation for the Visual Arts, honoured Haida artist Robert Davidson. The 2010 VIVA Awards, granted annually by The Jack and Doris Shadbolt Foundation, was given to artists Germaine Koh and Marina Roy. All artists showed their appreciation in heartfelt speeches.

The VAG, for the second time in a week, provided me with the opportunity to meet someone I admire. Last week was Kerry James Marshall and tonight the mayor of Vancouver, Gregor Robertson (photo below).  We had a quick chat about politics in Brazil and Latin American and the importance of awards like tonight’s to express recognition to artists. And yes, he is a very handsome guy with a certain Clark Kent vibe.

 

photo by me

Kerry James Marshal at the Vancouver Art Gallery

I had the privilege of being one of the first to see Kerry James Marshall‘s works on his first exhibition in Canada. The show opens to the public today at the Vancouver Art Gallery and the preview last night had the additional treat of Kerry James Marshall himself doing the guided tour. In a half-hour talk, the American artist went through his reasons for being an artist and comments on a few of the twenty paintings on display at the VAG. He mentioned his memory of a first visit to an art museum as a kid and his surprise of not seeing any black people represented. He set out to correct that imbalance and dedicated the last 25 years of his life to celebrate blackness in paintings that range from housing projects (below) and romantic scenes to portraits. An all-black painting at the far end of the gallery has been haunting me since last night.

Kerry James Marshall, ‘Our Town’, 1995

Put aside a few hours when visiting the VAG: besides Kerry James Marshall, the gallery is showing Fiona Tan‘s works from the past three years including Rise and Fall, a new two-channel film installation commissioned by the Vancouver Art Gallery specifically for the exhibition.

Twitter/Art+Social Media

Peter Combe Iran’s Ahmadinejad Prepares for Avatar Premier, 2010
Mixed media, HP Screen, frame-7 x 8.75 inches

I have been neglecting this blog while busy curating Twitter/Art+Social Media, a juried exhibition by artists using social media for inspiration, production and presentation of their work. The show Opens April 1st at Diane Farris Gallery, in Vancouver and has its own blog.

I am very excited about this project. The involvement of Vancouver’s artists with social media came very clear to me during the protests against the cuts for arts in BC last summer. Artists got organized through Facebook and Twitter to get together and share ideas. That has been a big leap from the old view of artists being isolated in their studios. Now they share working spaces, organize exhibitions, and get feedback and ideas – with social media being a huge facilitator.

The submitted material surprised me. Sometimes beautiful and poetic, sometimes funny or witty but always interesting. The almost 100 works explore a broad range of media, from traditional paintings on canvas to digital screens and web-based works.

If you are in Vancouver during the month of April, stop by to check the show in person.

Branches in Jars – Naoko Ito

I found Naoko Ito‘s work at Wine & Bowties. His Urban Nature series trapped branches into glass jars. It has many possible readings and it’s amazingly well-executed. More than branches, he trapped the negative space around it. I love it.

The Rodney Graham Band at Candahar

The Rodney Graham Band at Candahar, Vancouver – photo by Ken Eisner

I finally made it to Candahar, the bar/artwork at Granville Island last night just in time to watch Rodney Graham doing his sound check for a performance that would start a couple of hours later.

Named after a Belfast street, The Candahar is Theo Sims’s vision of an Irish bar. A sculptural installation with real beer on tap.

Rodney Graham is a legend of Vancouver’s photoconceptualism and I was surprised to find out about his musical skills.  He sounds a lot like Lou Reed.

Hot Art and Winter Games

Isabelle Hayeur Fire with Fire 2010

Vectorial Elevation is undoubtly the one artwork you can’t miss during these Olympic days in Vancouver. Really. You can see it from almost anywhere in town and it’s as grandiose as an event like the Games requires.

On the outskirts of downtown, though, you can find some almost hidden treasures. Isabelle Hayeur’s outdoor intervention Fire with Fire surprised me during a visit to the new and shiny Woodward’s building. While there, don’t miss Vancouverism at the building’s atrium. Turn your head up and check out the huge Stan Douglas‘ photographic panel (below). A few steps from the atrium is the brand new Audain Gallery. Take a break from the long lines for almost any event in town and have a great cultural adventure north of Robson Square.

Stan Douglas, Abbott & Cordova, 7 August 1971 (2008) (via Walrus)

MakeShift

Vancouver artist Natalie Purschwitz got herself in some fun trouble. For one year (started September 1st, 2009) she will only wear clothes made by herself. It would be almost easy if she wouldn’t have to create all her accessories as well. That includes sun glasses, shoes, socks, jewelry, underwear, bathing suits, etc. She came up with some very attractive pieces while questioning the limitations of clothing and its cultural aspects. Wearing or not a life-vest on a boat or finding ways of scuba-diving lead to more questions and answers. A great blog to subscribe.
From February 12 to 27 you can know more about the project at 8E. Cordova St, Vancouver, BC. Part of Bright Light project.

The new Audain Gallery

Sabine Bitter: Curator, Audain Gallery – photo by me

Saturday, February 6th, saw the opening of a new and exciting space for visual arts in Vancouver: the beautiful and spacious Audain Gallery at SFU’s Woodward’s.The inaugural exhibition  is First Nations / Second Nature, curated by Candice Hopkins.

With a mandate that wants to explore contemporary projects in Vancouver and internationally, the new gallery will encourage conceptual and experimental projects. Sabine Bitter, curator of Audain Gallery, is an internationally recognized multi-media artist.

The location of the gallery, on the ground level at West Hastings Street, changes the view in the neighbourhood. Art is visible to pedestrians and transit-users through its large windows (see bellow).

photo by me

Vectorial Elevation

From anywhere in the world you can be an active part of Vancouver’s Cultural Olympiad. Starting tomorrow, 20 searchlights over English Bay will be controlled by whoever wants to program a light pattern in the sky on this interactive art work called Vectorial Elevation. More than 2 million people are expected to view the installation in person and online.
Rafael Lozzano-Hemmer is the artist behind the project.