As the saying goes, time flies when you’re having fun! The BOLDERartists collective presents the exhibition It’s About Time – exploring the concept of aging and how time affects us – at the Silk Purse Gallery (Nov. 27–Dec. 21), in collaboration with the West Vancouver Community Arts Council.
“An hour in a child’s life is not the same as it is for a sixty year old,” says Joyce Ozier, artist and BOLDERartists collective organizer.
A diverse group of artists, now all based in Vancouver, chose to be bolder with time and find a silver lining in their artistic exploration.
Discovering boldness
When it seemed, for some, like time froze during the first Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, Ozier felt like everything was at a stand-still – and noticed a growing interest in “anti-ageism”. As a local visual artist, Ozier looked for “local artists over 65 that were doing interesting and bold works of various mediums”; and started an online print gallery with this eclectic group to share her joy and colourful work with others.
She also showed the world that a silver lining comes with age. The original project was called the “B/Older Gallery.” The project allowed Ozier to find four other artists – two photographers and two other painters – working in Vancouver, and excited about the idea of growing bold together.
Axel Breutigam | Photo courtesy of West Vancouver Community Arts Council
“As we age, our sense of time changes. And it is very personal – being affected by mood and stimulation,” she says.
With a very international collective of artists – hailing from New York, Boston, but also the United Kingdom, Germany, and one “small town in Alberta” – those fabulous five – Axel Breutigam, Melenie Fleischer, Annette Nieukerk, Joyce Ozier and Richard Wilson – use different styles and mediums to interpret their notion of time passing, the perception of old age and their artistic universes.
Finding individuality
The Collective can now show their work in person and had “one major show in the Vancouver area as a group each year” for the last three years, according to Ozier.
Each piece– interacting with each other as the visual artists develop common themes and debrief after each show – is a testament to the artist’s unique and bold work as the BOLDERartists collective value each artist’s individuality and personal expression. For this year’s theme and show, the Collective went back to the universal yet very personal experience of time.
“Time is relevant and irreversible. As the saying goes, time flies when you’re having fun!” explains Ozier.
Making time to find beauty
For It’s About Time, each artist uses their total artistic freedom to explore this theme based on their individual perceptions and experiences. Breutigam’s work explores the effects of the passage of time, its concrete repercussions. Fleischer’s work shows the wild melange of memories and images that passing time pulls together, and how our memories evolve and transform over time to shape each one of us.
“Axel Breutigam’s black and white waning daisy is as different from Melenie Fleischer’s rich, wild cacophony of colour and surreal images as can be,” says Ozier.
Making space for the individual expressions of the artists’ understanding of time and aging can help us appreciate it more, make it more interesting and approachable. By sharing their joy, colours and creativity, the BOLDERartists collective encourages the public to be less fearful and more bold when facing the very idea of the irrepressible passing of time, making time to find beauty and weave new friendships.
“Time moves much more quickly as one ages and memories overlap. Time fades and associations spread in all directions,” says Ozier.
The Silk Purse Gallery is part of the West Vancouver Community Arts Council and located at 1570 Argyle Avenue, West Vancouver.
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