Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale

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Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale

Hot Art: Going Public

"Walking Figures" by Magdalena Abakanowicz. Photo by KK Law

The bigger, the better—especially when it comes to public art. For two years, our city has been an outdoor art gallery for the large-scale installations of the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale. The exhibition officially ended last month with a sculpture auction, so it’s your last chance to see the alfresco artworks before they’re dismantled this summer. In an homage to our mobile society, most pieces can be found along transit routes. Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz’s cast-iron crowd of “Walking Figures” (pictured) is a perfect fit for the busy Broadway-City Hall Canada Line SkyTrain station.—Kristina Urquhart

Hot Dates: A Fond Farewell

"We, 2008" by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa watches over Sunset Beach Park. Photo by Dan Fairchild Photography

To April 30

For the last two years, our fair city has hosted gargantuan outdoor sculptures, ranging from the playful to the political, as part of the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale. The exhibition features more than 100 large-scale installations by international artists placed along transit routes. Whether you’re an art aficionado or simply someone who enjoys the beauty and novelty of oversized sculpture, don’t miss out on your last chance to see these dynamic works before they are auctioned off at the end of the month.—Carli Vierke

Hot Dates: Sculpture Biennale

To April 30

Oppenheim’s “Arriving Home” is at Vancouver International Airport, its circular shape representing the airport’s continual arrivals and departures. Photo by Dan Fairchild Photography

Vancouver is no stranger to statement-making public art—particularly the works of American conceptual artist Dennis Oppenheim, who passed away recently at 72. The artist’s giant engagement ring sculptures, part of the 2005-2007 Biennale, still sit on the shores of English Bay as a comment on same-sex marriage. Another of Oppenheim’s controversial installations, an inverted chapel perched precariously on its steeple, was relocated to Calgary after complaints in 2008. The artist’s legacy lives on in our city with the Plexiglas-and-steel “Arriving Home” (pictured), part of the current Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale.—Kristina Urquhart

15 Things We Love About Vancouver: January and February

Skating at Robson Square, popular during the 2010 Winter Games, is back in 2011. Photo copyright Sergeibach/Dreamstime

1 Reliving Olympic magic while ice skating in Robson Square (open daily until the end of Feb.), and all the other winter activities in our city.
2 The clean, crisp winter air.
3 Listening to live jazz while cutting into a sizzling steak at O’Doul’s Restaurant & Bar.
4 The most stylish salon in town, the new C:EHKO Hair Concepts.
5 The fact that pretty much every city block contains at least one coffee shop.
6 Heading to shopping centres for steals and deals on winter clearance items—spring items are already appearing on shelves.

The Olympic Cauldron is on Vancouver's waterfront. Photo by Sheri Radford

7 Indulging in dim sum on a weekend afternoon at Sun Sui Wah Seafood Restaurant.
8 Watching the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra perform at the Orpheum.
9 Abstracts by local artist Lesley Finlayson in New Paintings at Elissa Cristall Gallery (Jan. 29 to Feb. 26).
10 Warming up with a pot pie and pint of ale at The Irish Heather.
11 Getting rid of a hangover from New Year’s Eve by plunging into the ice-cold ocean for the annual Polar Bear Swim.
12 Indulging in sweet treats with your honey on Valentine’s Day or any day.
13 Checking out all the giant sculptures and billboards around the city that are part of the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale, which ends this summer.
14 Anticipating the new Pacific Centre location of Michael Kors, opening in late January, complete with clothing, sportswear, accessories, fragrances and eyewear.
15 The Olympic Cauldron at Jack Poole Plaza, and other reminders of the 2010 Winter Games.

15 Things We Love About Vancouver: September

Historic Burnaby Art Gallery

1 Watching Antony and Cleopatra (to Sep. 24) at Bard on the Beach.
2 Sara Canning. The actress wasn’t born here, but we still claim her as a local.
3 Shakin’ your groove thang at the city’s most popular nightclubs.
4 Burnaby Art Gallery and all the other sights in Deer Lake Park.
5 Eating at any of the local cooking schools, such as Bistro 101 at Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, Culinaria at The Art Institute of Vancouver, and JJ’s Restaurant at Vancouver Community College.
6 The annual Terry Fox Run (Sep. 19), raising money for cancer research.
7 Local wineries.
8 Taking the first ferry to Victoria or Nanaimo and watching the sun rise.

Perch on "Echoes" by Michael Goulet. Photo by KK Law

9 “Echoes” by Michel Goulet, an art installation on Kits Beach and part of the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale.
10 Dining at Earls.
11 Robert Bateman. The Canadian painter is visiting Vancouver to meet fans and sign copies of his new book, Bateman: New Works, at Chapters on South Granville (Sep. 25, 2 p.m.).
12 Reading reminiscences of a month’s eating in Paris in Cooking for Me and Sometimes You: A Parisienne Romance with Recipes (French Apple Press, $29.95) by Barbara-Jo McIntosh, owner of Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks, which stocks every tome a budding chef could ever need.
13 The Superdogs at the PNE (to Sep. 6).
14 Indulging our sweet tooth at Stuart’s Bakery.
15 Dropping by The Granville Island Brewing Tap Room for a pint of Brockton IPA—and picking up some small-batch beers to take home after.

15 Things We Love About Vancouver: April

Vancouver's gorgeous cherry blossoms paint the sky pink. Photo by Tom Ryan courtesy Tourism BC

1 Cherry blossoms. Nothing says “springtime” quite like the cheerful pink blossoms.
2 Using our noodle…for a quick, cheap meal at the West End’s Kintaro Ramen, Legendary Noodle or Hon’s Wun-Tun House.
3 Rogers’ Chocolates, which celebrates its 125th anniversary this year. Chocolate lovers choose the irresistible Victoria Creams—with fillings ranging from coffee, ginger and orange to vanilla, strawberry and always-patriotic maple.
4 Walking or biking along the seawall on a blustery day.
5 The annual Chutzpah! Festival (to Apr. 8).
6 Sipping a hot cuppa coffee while perusing the designer shops along bustling Robson Street.
7 The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
8 Tasting the very best of British Columbia at Edible BC, including organic jam, wild pacific salmon and local honey.
9 Grinder and Coola, two orphaned bears who reside on Grouse Mountain. They usually come out of hibernation in April.
10 Lingering over dessert at Lupo.
11 The larger-than-life art installations located throughout the city during the Biennale.
12 South Granville Street—aka Gallery Row—for its never-ending selection of art galleries.

Eye-pleasing confections at Lupo Restaurant & Vinoteca. Photo by KK Law

13 Dim sum, or any quick-to-eat Chinese food, such as take-out barbecue pork, from Chinatown.
14 Cheering for the Vancouver Canucks.
15 The Richmond Olympic Oval, which reopens to the public this month. It was the official speed skating venue for the 2010 Winter Games.

Larger Than Life

Giant sculptures take over Vancouver

By Kristina Urquhart

Stop by English Bay’s Morton Park to see “A-maze-ing Laughter” by Chinese artist Yue Minjun—the huge, cast-bronze statues are hard to miss. They depict Minjun’s own face in a state of hysterical laughter. Look at them long enough and you’ll be laughing, too. Photo by KK Law

Art lovers, you’re in luck: the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale has turned our city into an alfresco gallery until summer 2011. Not an art aficionado? You’re bound to be after beholding this exhibition, which makes art accessible to everyone, free of charge.

These enormous installations aren’t for the art snob; they’re meant to be interactive. Pose alongside giants with Yue Minjun’s “A-maze-ing Laughter” (pictured, left), or hunker down and participate in Wang Shugang’s “Meeting”. Crane your neck to see the small hare perched on the giant wire-mesh Minotaur in VanDusen Botanical Garden, or take a seat among the smattering of empty stainless-steel chairs on Kitsilano Beach.

Five of the 29 sculptures currently beautifying the city were acquired from the inaugural 2005 exhibition—check out one of these legacy projects, a pair of enormous engagement rings by American artist Dennis Oppenheim, on English Bay’s Sunset Beach Park.

This time around, the Biennale’s theme is “in-TRANSIT-ion,” in recognition of our mobile society. Fittingly, art from 12 participating countries has popped up on bicycle routes, at Canada Line SkyTrain stations, on buses and outside Vancouver International Airport. New-media installations will appear in transit shelters and on buses and trains in May as part of the Biennale New Media Rapid Transit Festival, on until September.

For those who want to go beyond the open-air museum, the Biennale offers publications and public lectures, as well as the Biennale Performance Art Festival, which kicks off in June with interactive, live attractions, including large-scale

The stainless steel “Barbora” by Lithuanian sculptor Vladas Vildžiunas is a formidable presence outside Pacific Central Station in Thornton Park. The piece is an homage to the medieval Polish queen and Lithuanian duchess Barbora Radvilaité. Photo by KK Law

sand drawings by Californian artist Jim Denevan.

The spring BIKEnnale cycle tour of the sculptures isn’t scheduled until late May, but cycling is a great way to explore the public art. Rent a two-wheeler at Bayshore Bicycle & Rollerblade Rentals or Spokes Bicycle Rentals & Tours and plan your own excursion.

For a map of the sculptures, visit www.vancouverbiennale.com.

15 Things We Love About Vancouver: January

Michael Zheng's The Stop. Photo by KK Law

1 The Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale, on until next year.
2 Rediscovering the sweets of yesteryear at The Candy Aisle. PEZ, Big League Chew, Sweetarts, Nerds, Runts, Laffy Taffy—yum.
3 The fact that pretty much every city block contains at least one coffee shop.
4 Watching the annual Polar Bear Swim (Jan. 1) with something—and someone—hot.
5 Lights of Hope (to Mar. 21), raising money for St. Paul’s Hospital.
6 Cheap eats at Hon’s Wun-Tun House.

St. Paul's Hospital's Lights of Hope. Photo by KK Law

7 The Shoppers Drugmart on Davie Street, which is open 24 hours a day.
8 Exploring the centre of the city.
9 Stephen Colbert. He’ll be here next month—whether as the official sponsor of the US speed skating team or as the City of Richmond’s Olympic Oval Ombudsman or even as an Olympic athlete, we don’t know. We do know the host of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report will make us laugh.
10 Catching a sunlit glimpse of the snow-covered North Shore mountains from downtown, and planning an escape to Grouse.
11 Nala, the seven-month-old (but only recently named) baby beluga at the Vancouver Aquarium. The name is short for an Inuktitut word meaning “surprise gift.”
12 Cheering for the Vancouver Canucks.
13 The clean, crisp winter air.
14 Counting down to the 2010 Winter Games.
15 The World Needs More Canada collection at Chapters and Indigo stores, which includes books by Canadians such as Margaret Atwood and Rex Murphy and accessories such as a red umbrella sporting a patriotic message you can’t ignore.

Hot Art: Laugh Out Loud

Yue Minjun's collection of statues at English Bay. Photo by KK Law

When you’re out and about in the city, you’re bound to see the numerous public art installations that make up the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale, on now until 2011. Stop by English Bay’s Morton Park to see “A-maze-ing Laughter” (pictured) by Chinese artist Yue Minjun. The larger-than-life, cast-bronze statues depict Minjun’s own face in a state of hysterical laughter, encouraging the viewer to share in his joy. And let’s face it—every now and then, we all need a good chuckle.—Kristina Urquhart

15 Things We Love About Vancouver: January

Michael Zheng's The Stop. Photo by KK Law

1 The Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale (pictured at right), on until next year.
2 Rediscovering the sweets of yesteryear at The Candy Aisle. PEZ, Big League Chew, Sweetarts, Nerds, Runts, Laffy Taffy—yum.
3 The fact that pretty much every city block contains at least one coffee shop.
4 Watching the annual Polar Bear Swim (Jan. 1) with something—and someone—hot.
5 Lights of Hope (to Mar. 21), raising money for St. Paul’s Hospital.

St. Paul's Hospital is all lit up until March 21. Photo by KK Law

6 Cheap eats at Hon’s Wun-Tun House.
7 The Shoppers Drugmart on Davie Street, which is open 24 hours a day.
8 Exploring the centre of the city.
9 Stephen Colbert. He’ll be here next month—whether as the official sponsor of the US speed skating team or as the City of Richmond’s Olympic Oval Ombudsman or even as an Olympic athlete, we don’t know. We do know the host of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report will make us laugh.
10 Catching a sunlit glimpse of the snow-covered North Shore mountains from downtown, and planning an escape to Grouse.
11 Nala, the seven-month-old (but only recently named) baby beluga at the Vancouver Aquarium. The name is short for an Inuktitut word meaning “surprise gift.”
12 Cheering for the Vancouver Canucks.
13 The clean, crisp winter air.
14 Counting down to the 2010 Winter Games.
15 The World Needs More Canada collection at Chapters and Indigo stores, which includes books by Canadians such as Margaret Atwood and Rex Murphy and accessories such as a red umbrella sporting a patriotic message you can’t ignore.