Zadie Xa’s Child of Magohalmi and the Echoes of Creation is part of the group exhibition Interior Infinite, showing through September 5 at the Polygon Gallery
We like a little culture, too, you know. Spanning public art, retrospectives and contemporary group efforts, these exhibitions will keep you in galleries through the fall
With B.C. in Step 3 of its restart, it’s a great time to plan a bit of culture into your summer. Whether you grab some friends or go solo, these local exhibitions include work by a wide variety of artists from B.C. and farther afield, providing some much-needed food for your soul after months of COVID restrictions. From drawings and photography to ceramics and public art, they inspire thought, creativity and conversation.
Audain Art Museum
Itee Pootoogook: Hymns to the Silence
Louie Palu: Distant Early Warning
Hymns to the Silence offers a glimpse of contemporary Inuit life and the landscape of Nunavut by the late Itee Pootoogook, a key member of the third generation of Inuit artists from Kinngait (Cape Dorset). Through some 60 coloured pencil and graphite drawings on display at the Whistler gallery, Pootoogook takes viewers on a journey into everyday life through his eyes, inspiring an intrigue similar to people-watching on a park bench.
Louie Palu: Distant Early Warning explores the political and environmental threats to the North American Arctic, through a collection of photographs by award-winning Canadian photographer Palu. Through September 6
This survey focuses on how Vancouver-based interdisciplinary artist Lyse Lemieux engages with the human figure. Besides drawings in ink, paint and fabric, Trespassers/Intrus includes The Classroom, an installation of suspended school tunics made from glass. “Based on a formative memory and a dream-like experience from childhood, the work evokes the thrill of rebellion and the promise of transformation,” the host gallery notes.Through September 19; by appointment only
Contemporary Art Gallery
Archival – for Rosario Cooper and my 10-year-old self
Muddled Mirage of Memories Escaping Encapsulation
Archival, an installation by Christine Howard Sandoval, a Vancouver-based Obispeño Chumash and Hispanic artist, reflects the belief that photography and colonialism are inseparable. In other words, “taking” and archiving pictures of Indigenous Peoples has helped to perpetuate the violent extraction of their land, labour and resources. With that in mind, Sandoval has wrapped a downtown Canada Line Station in a collage consisting of archival documents and images, layered with schematic maps comparing Spanish Mission and ancient Indigenous architecture. Offsite at Yaletown-Roundhouse Station; through August 22
In Muddled Mirage of Memories Escaping Encapsulation, Nicole Kelly Westman examines how light can influence the way we perceive, recall and assign meaning to memory. The exhibition’s three works, presented across the CAG’s façade windows, reference the photographic process for creating “ideal” images, the gallery explains. Through August 22
Credit: Courtesy of the artist
Installation photo of The Poetic Process by Glenn Lewis, whose ceramics appear in Imperfect Offerings at the Richmond Art Gallery through August 22
Artist Vincent Trasov’s 1974 run for mayor of Vancouver as Mr. Peanut is one of the works explored in this nostalgic collection of films, photographs, drawings, collages and other material. Image Bank takes its name from an eight-year project launched by Trasov, Michael Morris and Gary Lee-Nova in 1970, when they were associated with local artist-run centre Intermedia. “The exhibition reflects on a period of optimism where artists envisioned a non-hierarchical alternative to the world of art galleries and museums, where images and ideas could be freely exchanged through the international postal system,” the Belkin says, arguing that their efforts presaged social media. Through August 22
To mark the 10th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, or 3.11, Fuyubi Nakamura curates a MoA exhibition reminding us of the power of nature and asking how we deal with memory after dramatic changes to our physical surroundings. Works on display include the “Lost Homes” Scale Model Restoration Project—a pre-disaster diorama of the affected towns and villages—and Art and Life After the Great East Japan Earthquake, which shows photos of resilient flora and fauna that thrived after the crisis. Through September 5
Interior Infinite is part of the Polygon series New Perspectives: Revealing diverse perspectives, untold stories and new voices in visual art. At a time when diversity is finally getting its due, assistant curator Justin Ramsey has assembled an exhibit that reflects individuality and tests the limits imposed by society. Emphasizing self-portraits, with a focus on costume and masquerade as a way to reveal rather than obscure identity, it challenges the belief that as humans, we are stagnant in our evolution. “Every single person is a work in progress, with the potential and courage to change and be changed,” Ramsey says. The several Canadian and international artists whose work encompasses photography, video, performance and sculpture. Through September 5
Credit:
Courtesy of School District 35. Photo: Blaine Campbell
Red hawk, salmon and spindle whorl by Xwalacktun (Rick Harry) is one of the works in Balanced Forms: Xwalacktun, James Harry and Austin Harry, opening July 28 at the West Vancouver Art Museum
With a nod to post-pandemic social gatherings and simple pleasures, these new and past works by B.C. ceramicists Jesse Birch, Naoko Fukumaru and Glenn Lewis embody function and beauty, the RAG notes. “As summer emerges, there is a renewed sense of optimism for things we’ve lost in the past year: shared meals, gatherings with friends and family, moments of human connection,” says gallery director Shaun Dacey. “This exhibition brings together objects that serve as conduits for intimate care and aesthetic play.” Through August 22
The second instalment of a planned a series of exhibitions that the VAG says will take an expansive look at contemporary art in Greater Vancouver, this show features recent work from 32 local artists. Organized by five co-curators and spanning a range of media, scale and modes of presentation, it explores themes such as cultural resilience, articulating suppressed histories and imagining emancipated futures, according to the gallery. Through January 2
The Biennale’s two-year Re-IMAGE-n program was set to continue until 2020, but organizers literally had to reimagine it thanks to the pandemic, which prompted the cancelling of installations by 40 artists. Besides new public art, this year’s extension includes BIKEennale/WALKennale, consisting of 40 art-infused tours, with new instalments released each week. The tours, suitable for people of all abilities, cover public art and points of cultural, historical and architectural significance. Also ongoing: We Are Ocean Vancouver, which explores ocean literacy based on Indigenous knowledge and storytelling through online videos and accompanying activity guides.
Balanced Forms: Xwalacktun, James Harry and Austin Harry
Besides producing commissions, Coast Salish artist Xwalacktun (Rick Harry) has been a cultural instructor at schools throughout the Lower Mainland, where he’s created carvings with students who include his sons, James and Austin Harry. Xwalacktun regards that work as a learning opportunity that supports his efforts at reconciliation, according to the West Vancouver Art Museum. Balanced Forms includes a selection of such projects, plus materials showing the design process. July 28 through October 2
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Vancouver Island art community, a local art dealer has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Calvin Lucyshyn, the former operator of the now-closed Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, faces the charge after police seized hundreds of artworks, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, from various storage sites in the Greater Victoria area.
Alleged Fraud Scheme
Police allege that Lucyshyn had been taking valuable art from members of the public under the guise of appraising or consigning the pieces for sale, only to cut off all communication with the owners. This investigation began in April 2022, when police received a complaint from an individual who had provided four paintings to Lucyshyn, including three works by renowned British Columbia artist Emily Carr, and had not received any updates on their sale.
Further investigation by the Saanich Police Department revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Detectives found other alleged victims who had similar experiences with Winchester Galleries, leading police to execute search warrants at three separate storage locations across Greater Victoria.
Massive Seizure of Artworks
In what has become one of the largest art fraud investigations in recent Canadian history, authorities seized approximately 1,100 pieces of art, including more than 600 pieces from a storage site in Saanich, over 300 in Langford, and more than 100 in Oak Bay. Some of the more valuable pieces, according to police, were estimated to be worth $85,000 each.
Lucyshyn was arrested on April 21, 2022, but was later released from custody. In May 2024, a fraud charge was formally laid against him.
Artwork Returned, but Some Remain Unclaimed
In a statement released on Monday, the Saanich Police Department confirmed that 1,050 of the seized artworks have been returned to their rightful owners. However, several pieces remain unclaimed, and police continue their efforts to track down the owners of these works.
Court Proceedings Ongoing
The criminal charge against Lucyshyn has not yet been tested in court, and he has publicly stated his intention to defend himself against any pending allegations. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2024.
Impact on the Local Art Community
The news of Lucyshyn’s alleged fraud has deeply affected Vancouver Island’s art community, particularly collectors, galleries, and artists who may have been impacted by the gallery’s operations. With high-value pieces from artists like Emily Carr involved, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can exist in art transactions.
For many art collectors, the investigation has raised concerns about the potential for fraud in the art world, particularly when it comes to dealing with private galleries and dealers. The seizure of such a vast collection of artworks has also led to questions about the management and oversight of valuable art pieces, as well as the importance of transparency and trust in the industry.
As the case continues to unfold in court, it will likely serve as a cautionary tale for collectors and galleries alike, highlighting the need for due diligence in the sale and appraisal of high-value artworks.
While much of the seized artwork has been returned, the full scale of the alleged fraud is still being unraveled. Lucyshyn’s upcoming court appearances will be closely watched, not only by the legal community but also by the wider art world, as it navigates the fallout from one of Canada’s most significant art fraud cases in recent memory.
Art collectors and individuals who believe they may have been affected by this case are encouraged to contact the Saanich Police Department to inquire about any unclaimed pieces. Additionally, the case serves as a reminder for anyone involved in high-value art transactions to work with reputable dealers and to keep thorough documentation of all transactions.
As with any investment, whether in art or other ventures, it is crucial to be cautious and informed. Art fraud can devastate personal collections and finances, but by taking steps to verify authenticity, provenance, and the reputation of dealers, collectors can help safeguard their valuable pieces.
