Hot Art

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Hot Art: Retro Road Trip Art

"After 8" at Wall Space Gallery opens Feb. 4 and runs to Feb. 26. Photo credit: Andrew King, "Closed Til Further Notice."

Have you ever felt an urge to recreate the past? Artist Andrew King had that feeling, and decided to go for it. For 10 days in November, King drove from Ottawa to New York City as if it were the mid-20th century. He drove a vintage car, only took two-lane highways, and ate and stayed at places from that time period. On his journey, he absorbed everything he saw, especially after 8pm when, in his words, “small town diners, motels, stores and other locales have a ghostly lit, neon, almost surreal look to them.” The sketches and paintings (along the lines of this artistic rendering) that were inspired by his trip will be on display in the exhibition “After 8” at Wall Space Gallery and Framing from Feb. 4 to 26.

Hot Art: Editor’s Pick: Like Minded

Ryan Park, Untitled (2009) Chromira print, Courtesy Ryan Park

JAN 28–MAR 25 More than 30 emerging and established Canadian artists explore the peculiarities in simple forms, imagery, stationery, books and trompe l’oeil in Like Minded (pictured). The two-month long, multi-media exhibition at Plug In ICA runs in conjunction with Winnipeg artist Michael Dumontier’s solo exhibition, A Moon or a Button. Instead of limiting his art to one medium, Dumontier embraces painting, collage and drawing using, in some cases, saw blades and string to help create his inventive and seemingly improvised works. 1-460 Portage Ave, 204-942-1043.

Margaret Witschl: Getting Anxious

Photo courtesy of Margaret Witschl, Agoraphobia, 2010 acrylic on canvas, 70 cm X 105 cm; Photo by Dawn LeBlanc, 2011

January 26 – February 25
When you step into this exhibit, you’re essentially entering the psyche of local artist Margaret Witschl. She explains, “The visual expression of anxiety is not captured in pictures of scary things…. The feeling of anxious agitation, ranging from gentle disquiet, to nagging worry, to full- blown terror, is created when the predictable meets the irrational.” To express her concept, Witschl layers “irrational” images—some drawn from her own fretful experiences—overtop of “logical” geometric patterns to give her collage-style paintings a wonderfully ominous presence. Harcourt House Arts Centre, Front Room Gallery, 10215-112 St., 780-426-4180.

Hot Art: Art that says “I Love You”

"Love" by Patrick John Mills is just one of the pieces you will see at this exhibit.

With longer nights, cold wind, and Valentine’s Day around the corner, we all need a little love. An exhibition at the Patrick John Mills Contemporary Fine Art Gallery brings you just that. “I Love You,” an exhibit running from Jan. 19 to Feb. 25 features 15 artists, all of whom bring their own interpretations and media of choice to the idea of love. Check out the LOVE Art Party on Feb. 14 for a one-of-a-kind Valentine’s Day. Skip the commercialism and head to the gallery, where they will have music, live painters, fire spinners, body painting, and kissing booths (for $15 you can even get babysitting on site). Sure beats dinner and a movie!

Hot Art: Hiroshima History at Vancouver’s Museum of Anthropology

#88 by Ishiuchi Miyako "Wristwatch," 2010/2010 C-type print, 335 x 230, Okimoto S.

August 6, 1945. It’s a date not forgotten by many, but a Japanese photographer aims to document it for posterity with her 48 moving images of everyday objects left behind by the victims of the atomic bombing at Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II. Photos of these ownerless belongings, including a wristwatch (pictured), give a personal take on the event in hiroshima by Ishiuchi Miyako at the UBC Museum of Anthropology (to Feb. 12).—Kristina Urquhart

Hot Art: Michael Morris Times Three

Michael Morris, Paris Letter, 1967. Courtesy collection of the University of Lethbridge Art Collection and gift of Lawrence Christmas

Design, poetry and art come together in Letters: Michael Morris and Concrete Poetry, which shows 90 works at three venues: Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery (Jan. 13 to Apr. 8); Satellite Gallery (Feb. 4 to Mar. 3); and UBC’s Walter C. Koerner Library (Jan. 13 to Apr. 30).—Kristina Urquhart

Hot Art: Stirring Spaces

"24 West" by Carolyn Mount

Examine our emotional attachment to structure in the etchings and prints of Relational Spaces at Dundarave Print Workshop and Gallery (Jan. 9 to Feb. 5) Carolyn Mount’s “24 West” (pictured) is a reductive relief print, created by carving a single block, or stamp, in several different stages to build up colour.—Kristina Urquhart

Hot Art: Off the Beaten Path

"Waterline" by Maegan Harbridge, at Port Moody Arts Centre

Seek and you shall find. Some of our city’s coolest art galleries aren’t in Vancouver proper, but in our neighbouring cities. At Port Moody Arts Centre (to Feb. 19), student Maegan Harbridge’s soft abstracts and drawings in Goodnight Goodluck explore the destruction caused by the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan (“Waterline,” pictured). Also worth a drive to the ‘burbs: Burnaby Art Gallery and Richmond Art Gallery.—Kristina Urquhart

Hot Art: Cool Space for Contemporary Art

Orange Art Gallery

The site of an old Stubby Soda Pop factory is now the home of Orange Art Gallery. Open since April 2010, the gallery represents over 20 established and emerging contemporary artists and is making quite a splash in the Ottawa arts scene. From Jan. 4 to 22, check out paintings of the beautiful Ottawa Valley landscape by Crystal Beshara in the exhibition “Winter’s Promise,” or reflect on the experience of visiting an art gallery with “A Conversation with Painting” by Lorena Ziraldo, on from Jan. 25 to Feb. 12. We’re digging the cool, industrial feel of the space, which seems like just the place to spend an afternoon absorbed in the arts.

Hot Art: Lost & Found

Through January 28
Ponder works that focus on revealing physical aspects of objects hidden below the surface of our perceptions. Sydney Lancaster enlightens us through mixed media assemblages by tracing the connection of physical objects and the influence they have on constructing memories; Paul Burwell’s macro photography exposes the enigmatic and inconspicuous artistry of snowflakes; and Cynthia Fuhrer uses figuration and abstraction to actualize phantasmic images of faces that emerge in her subconscious mind. Art Gallery of St. Albert, 19 Perron St., 780-460-4310.

Hot Art: Michael Audain’s Collection at the Vancouver Art Gallery

Photo by Rachel Topham, Vancouver Art Gallery, of "War Canoes, Alert Bay" by Emily Carr courtesy the collection of Michael Audain and Yoshiko Karasawa

Going Public

Get a glimpse of businessman and philanthropist Michael Audain’s extensive private art collection, on loan to the Vancouver Art Gallery, in Shore, Forest and Beyond: Art from the Audain Collection (to Jan. 29). The exhibition features 170 artworks, including a number of pieces by Emily Carr (“War Canoes, Alert Bay,” pictured) and other well-known regional artists such as Lawren Harris and B.C. Binning. Also on display are a variety of First Nations ceremonial objects, cementing this as a solid showcase of BC talent. —Kristina Urquhart

More information:

VANCOUVER ART GALLERY Daily 10 am-5 pm, Tu to 9 pm. $17.50, senior $12.50, student $12.50, 5-12 $6.25, under 5 free, family $50. Tu admission by donation after 5 pm. 750 Hornby St. 24-hr info 604-662-4719. www.vanartgallery.bc.ca

Hot Art: Art Exhibits

Two plasma-cut shovels, Collection of Art Mûr, Courtesy of Winnipeg Art Gallery

To JAN 15 — Using beads, clay, silver and industrial metals, five contemporary artists expand the definition of craft in Precise: Craft Redefined (pictured) at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

Hot Art: History Lesson

"Kenyan Water Hole No. 1" by Alfred J. Klein, 1933, courtesy Satellite Gallery

Step back in time during Nature, Knowledge and the Knower at Satellite Gallery (to Jan 14). You’ll see three panoramic photograph enlargements taken in Kenya between 1920 and 1930 (“Kenyan Water Hole No. 1” by Alfred J. Klein, pictured), which were later used to aid in the creation of the habitat dioramas at the American Museum of Natural History. Complementing the exhibition is an online archive of over 400 photos by explorer James L. Clark and other artists. —Kristina Urquhart

More information:

SATELLITE GALLERY 560 Seymour St., 2nd floor; 604-687-8425

Hot Art: Winter Warm-Up on Granville’s Gallery Row

"Halo #4" by Gordon Wiens

Nothing beats a December walk down South Granville’s Gallery Row. Warm up by checking out hot new contemporary artworks in Gallery Artists at Bau-Xi Gallery (Dec. 3 to 23). Inside, you’ll find acrylics by abstract artist Gordon Wiens (“Halo #4,” pictured), as well as pieces by other painters such as Cori Creed and Joseph Plaskett. After, if you’re still feeling frosty, there are over 20 cool galleries on this strip to warm both your body and your mind.—Kristina Urquhart

More information:

BAU-XI GALLERY 3045 Granville St. 604-733-7011. www.bau-xi.com

Hot Art: Fine Canadian Art at Mountain Galleries

"Consolation" by Linda Wilder

Top Notch

With gorgeous paintings by Canadian artists such as Linda Wilder (“Consolation,” pictured) lining the walls, it’s little wonder Mountain Galleries at the Fairmont won the Fine Art category in our 2011 Where to Shop Awards. This winter, keep an eye out for works exploring the mountain culture and landscape by 12 major artists, including Corrinne Wolcoski and Robert Genn.—Kristina Urquhart

More information:

MOUNTAIN GALLERIES AT THE FAIRMONT Fairmont Chateau Whistler, 4599 Chateau Blvd. 604-935-1862. www.mountaingalleries.com

Hot Art: A Passion for Nature

Image courtesy of Pierre August Renoir, View From Cap Martin of Monte Carlo, 1884 oil on canvas. 26 X 32 1/8 inches (66.04 X 81.66 cm). Edward C. and Mary Walker Collection

Through February 20
This masterworks exhibition highlights the development of French landscape painting during what is often considered the golden age of landscape art — the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth century, when artists utilized spontaneous brushwork and working in the open air, giving the style of art a whole new level of directness. Included are works from some of the most influential pioneers in landscape art including Claude Monet, Theodore Rousseau and Gustave Courbet. At Art Gallery of Alberta, 2 Sir Winston Churchill Square, 780-422-6223.

Hot Art: New Works at Kurbatoff Art Gallery

"Gothic" by William Allister

High Impact

Looking for drama? You won’t be disappointed by the kaleidoscopic pieces from the estate of Canadian painter William Allister (“Gothic,” pictured) at Kurbatoff Art Gallery during its Holiday Season Group Show (to Dec. 31).—Kristina Urquhart

More information:

KURBATOFF ART GALLERY 2435 Granville St. 604-736-5444. www.kurbatoffgallery.com

Hot Art: Prepare to be Awed by Nature

Still from "The Sugarcane Labyrinth," a short film about the Agricultural Land Art piece by Anne Katrine Senstad. In collaboration with Triple K and M Farms, Theriot, Louisiana. © Anne Katrine Senstad.

Contemporary art collides with nature in Preternatural, an original exhibition coming to the Canadian Museum of Nature as well as two other venues (Saint Brigid’s Centre for the Arts and Patrick Mikhail Gallery) this winter. Curator Dr. Celina Jeffrey wanted to create a “new cultural cartography” of Ottawa with this multi-venue exhibit, putting contemporary art in new places to appeal to a wider audience. And what a thrill it is to see.

Preternatural is all about the unknown as the artists, both local and international, explore their own particular version of nature. Ottawa native Andrew Wright describes his piece — a fusion of photography and sculpture inspired by his trips to the Arctic — as “a place of real confusion, where everything is profoundly disoriented and you don’t know which way is up.” German-born Mariele Neudecker, now of the U.K., uses chemical glass spheres and images of lighthouses to portray a mysterious, yet sublime, landscape. And Gatineau native Marie-Jeanne Musiol has created cosmic-like images using electromagnetic photography to catch leaves from Gatineau Park in a magnetic field. (more…)

Hot Art: Fusing Painting and Photography

"Lunch @ Times Square" by Claudia Salguero.

Photo editing has become a popular way to beautify, correct, or enhance photos, but Claudia Salguero’s “Urbano Beats” uses the technique for a completely different purpose: she digitally paints over a photo and manipulates it to add artistic touches that did not exist before. In this exhibit, combining the realism of a photograph with the fantasy of a painting puts an intriguing postmodern twist on her subjects. Her distinct pieces will be on display at Trinity Art Gallery from Dec. 1 to Jan. 10 (the vernissage takes place Dec. 4 from 1 to 3pm).

Hot Art: Culture at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC

"Coke Salish" by Sonny Assu

Memory Test

In A Green Dress: Objects, Memory, and the Museum (to Feb. 12), the Museum of Anthropology explores the memories of cultural communities with pieces such as First Nations artist Sonny Assu’s thought-provoking take on the iconic Coca-Cola sign (“Coke Salish,” pictured).—Kristina Urquhart
More information:

MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AT UBC Tu 10 am-9 pm, W-Su 10 am-5 pm. $14, s/s $12, family $35. $7 on Tu from 5 pm-9 pm. 6393 N.W. Marine Dr. 604-822-5087. www.moa.ubc.ca