Murals for the city

The next instalment in the Lulu Series: Art in the City will focus on the Vancouver Mural Festival. Co-founder and executive director of the Festival, David Vertesi, will be speaking on behalf of a group that strives to create connections and discussion with public art, at the Richmond City Hall on March 9. Murals as…

An artist’s prickly journey

Language is not only important for survival but is crucial to communication. Gu Xiong, a tenured professor at UBC (Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory), showcases in R Space his solo exhibition of new works, Pins (Feb.11–March 31). “If you couldn’t express your ideas, you might lose your position in mainstream culture. Immigrants…

Mixed media reflects multiculturalism

Award-winning artist Katie Cheung’s new exhibit Beyond Nature II opens Feb. 3 at the Art Beatus Gallery with a showing that features mixed media and acrylic on canvas paintings. Born in Hong Kong, Cheung received her formal art education at Langara College and Emily Carr University of Art & Design after making Vancouver her home.…

Identities redefined unidentifiable

Erdem Taşdelen takes society’s obsession with titles and gives it an abrupt shake. In the upcoming exhibitions, running from Jan. 13–Mar.17 at the Contemporary Art Gallery (CAG), Wild Child and The Quantified Self Poems redress our preoccupation with labeling. “The two projects are conflated in some ways,” says Taşdelen. Wild Child Always curious, the Emily…

Making peace with Aboriginal history through art

Tunics of the Changing Tide, a painting by First Nations artist Marianne Nicolson, has transformed the Dzawada̱’enux̱w Nation’s history and story into artwork. Nicolson’s work will be exhibited at the Walter C.Koerner Library at UBC from Jan. 13– Apr. 9. In the summer of 1980, at the age of eleven, Nicolson moved to Kingcome Inlet…

Projected imagery engagements within an urban landscape

How does it feel to interact with someone who isn’t actually there? This question arose while viewing and engaging with the current Surrey Art Gallery exhibit Rencontres Imaginaires by Scenocosme. The larger-than-life public art installation exhibits on the UrbanScreen outside Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre every evening. Scenocosme are two artists otherwise known as Gregory Lasserre…

Watercolour artist brings the North Shore to life

What to do while waiting at a red light? Some listen to music, others simply stand there, but Mohammad Reza Atashzad, watercolour artist and art instructor, is different – he can finish a painting before the light turns green. “Watercolour painting is very spontaneous; I can draw it very quickly,” says Atashzad. Born in Esfahan,…

Travels to Italy: a visual display

“The curator was wanting to debunk the theory of women going to Italy because they’ve had a life crisis, and they go into this space where they lose their inhibitions and fall in love – perpetuated by books like Room with a View and Eat, Pray, Love,” says Danaca Ackerson, adding that people still have…

Artist explores race relations through ceramic

Judy Chartrand’s ceramic collection, What a Wonderful World, is showcased at Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art. The pots, bowls and ceramics explore issues of colonization, racism and relations between indigenous and non-native community. The gallery is featuring Chartrand’s work in aims of working towards its mission of building bridges between native artists and…

Jayeonmi: (natural Beauty) all around

Ilsoo Kyung’s exhibition, Jayeonmi, depicts the significance of the environment, as well as her message to her audience. The exhibition takes place (Oct.27–Dec.10) at Douglas College. Kyung, who immigrated to Vancouver from South Korea at the age of 29, says the environment has always been an inspiration for her artwork. “I grew up near a…

Two cultures joined in art

Watercolour painter Sandy Blass will be appearing at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver (JCCGV) to debut her first solo exhibit No Other Country… The exhibit expresses Blass’ inner feelings toward her dual identity of being from both Canada and Israel. As a Diaspora Jew, Blass finds herself in the middle of two cultures.…

Upcycling chopsticks into functional pieces of art

Felix Böck wants to give used chopsticks a second life. He founded a company named ChopValue that takes used chopsticks and turns them into woodwork items such as coasters, tables and shelves.  When Böck was six, he carved hiking sticks for tourists in the Alps. Since then, he has been closely connected to wood. He…

A Filipino photographer’s quest for light

He calls himself The Light Chaser. “I call myself the light chaser because I chase the lights in landscapes – sunsets, sunrises, any source of light elements,” says Frannz Morzo, Vancouver-based landscape photographer. New kid on the block Together with his parents and siblings, Morzo immigrated to Canada from the Philippines when he was 15…