The French Masters from the National Gallery of Canada

James Tissot, The Letter, c 1878 Oil on canvas National Gallery of Canada

December 4, 2004 to February 20, 2005

Masterworks of 19th Century French Realism from the National Gallery of Canada

In the 19th century, French artists started to move away from mythological and historical painting to concentrate on the world around them. Where former generations of artists had regaled themselves with illustrations of narrative-based subject matter, the Realist movement sought to recreate the visible world. Gustave Courbet, who epitomized the movement, stated that "painting is essentially a concrete art" that is firmly entrenched in the visible world.

This exhibition draws on the National Gallery of Canada's rich collection of 19th century French paintings to demonstrate the beginnings of Realism in the work of artists such as Camille Corot, Gustave Courbet and Honoré Daumier. Corot's Bridge at Narni (above), the earliest work featured here, looks back to classical tradition yet hints at the beginnings of new landscape painting in France. Courbet, in his impressive Cliffs at Étretat, demonstrates through the act of plein-air painting (painting in the "full air" in front of the landscape), the need to capture reality as it is directly perceived by the artist.

The works of artists, such as Jean-François Millet and Johan Barthold Jongkind, provide important perspectives on the art of painting at the time. Millet's interest in peasant life and Jongkind's harbour scene reflect the growing interest in scenes of everyday life. The exhibition concludes with paintings by artists such as Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Henri Fantin-Latour and James Tissot that provide the viewer with a remarkable synopsis of the painting of this period in France. Degas' Woman with an Umbrella is a perfect example of Realist painting with its close and unidealized observation of the sitter. Tissot's The Letter (below), while working from a firmly based narrative tradition, also regales the viewer with a sense of delight in his meticulously observed details of romance and intrigue.

The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue by Dr. John Collins, Assistant Curator, European Art, at the National Gallery of Canada. This exhibition is organized and circulated by the National Gallery of Canada. It is supported by the Department of Canadian Heritage through the Canada Travelling Exhibitions Indemnification Program.

front page image:
Edgar Degas Woman with an Umbrella, c. 1876
Oil on canvas
National Gallery of Canada

French Drawings from the National Gallery of Canada

This exhibition features 76 French drawings from the 16th to the 19th centuries from the collection of the National Gallery of Canada. Through an exceptional range of techniques and materials, the exhibition explores various aspects of the art of drawing, from the sketch to the finished work, addressing such varied subjects as historical or religious themes, landscapes, portraits and genre scenes. The exhibition, organized chronologically, is built around five main themes. The earliest works, dating from the end of the 16th to the middle of the 17th century, are remarkable for their emphasis of fine draftsmanship featuring drawings by artists such as Jacques Callot and Jacques Bellange. The second period, under the influence of 17th and 18th century academic doctrine, includes works by Charles LeBrun and Charles de La Fosse. Drawings by Antoine Watteau, François Boucher and Jean-Honoré Fragonard reveal the importance of the Rocaille movement. Neoclassicism and Romanticism are featured in drawings by Jean-Dominique Ingres, Jacques-Louis David, Eugène Delacroix and Théodore Géricault. The final section of the exhibition presents drawings from the second half of the 19th century by artists such as Paul Cézanne, Odilon Redon and Edgar Degas. These works reveal the full extent of the expressive possibilities of drawing as a medium and allow us to gain a greater understanding of the creative process.

A special admission price applies to this exhibition Adult: $12 Senior/Student: $10 Children Under 12: $3 Tickets available at the door or in advance through the Tourism Victoria Online Reservations System, or by calling toll-free at 1.800.663.3883 Regular Hours Monday to Sunday: 10 am - 5 pm Thursday: 10 am - 9 pm Holiday Times Christmas Eve (Dec. 24): 10am - 1pm Christmas Day (Dec. 25): Closed Boxing Day (Dec. 26): 10:00am - 5:00pm Holiday Hours Dec. 27 - 30: 10:00am - 9:00pm New Year's Eve (Dec. 31): 10am - 1pm New Year's Day (Jan. 1): 10:00am - 5:00pm Member Admission Members will recieve a pass for two free admissions (valid when shown with Membership card)and a pass for admission on the free preview day (December 2, 2004).

Book your stay in Victoria at the Magnolia Hotel & Spa.

Presented by Aim Trimark Investments
local support by:
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria Volunteer Committee; The Magnolia Hotel; Times Colonist; CH Vancouver Island; 90.5FM CBC Radio One Victoria; BC Transit; Western Living

Beauty Queens

Melinda Morey Migrate, 2003 video still Collection of the artist

December 10, 2004 to February 27, 2005

What is it about islands that fires the imagination? From treasure islands to gulag archipelagos, islands have been invested with a potent mix of myth and reality, fiction and fact. Romanticized and promoted as places of ideal perfection, of intimacy, retreat and renewal, islands also offer stark realities of exile, isolation, seclusion, ecological pressures, and social compression. Their identities injected with silicon slickness and simplified for mass tourism markets, nowhere is the interplay of false and real more intense: islands are beauty queens through and through.

Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and Vancouver Island are vastly different, in terms of the unique narratives of immigration, geography, history and politics which have shaped them. Physically isolated yet characterised by their own urban-rural tensions, such islands are a microcosm for examining local cultural production within globalised conditions. The illusion and fantasy of island life, the ideals of privacy and escape and of meditative solitude, are at odds with the experience of exile, its attendant loneliness, and threat of social breakdown. These unique economies illustrate the need for social continuity and the overarching theme of waiting for rescue or return to collective social experience, as seen in literary and cinematic examples such as Treasure Island or Castaway. Through the dialogue developed both within Canada and internationally, Beauty Queens extends through its research concepts of identity and cultural autonomy within the unique situation of island experience.

Drawn from three Canadian and three international islands, this exhibition presents thirteen artists whose work emerges from and reflects on their island settings: Gerald Beaulieu and Judith Scherer of Prince Edward Island; Jim Hansen and Barb Hunt of Newfoundland; Marianne Nicolson and John Boehme of Vancouver Island Island; Dan Shipsides and Daniel Jewesbury of Ireland; Susan Dayal, Wendy Nanan and Chris Cozier from Trinidad; and Gaye Chan and Melinda Morey from Hawaii. Taking up their positions simultaneously at the centres and margins, the artists in Beauty Queens collectively explore the conditions of island cultural production, and in the process, their common concerns of identity, history, tradition, environment, culture, distance and communication are revealed.

The exhibition catalogue features curatorial essays that examine ideas of spectacle, global/local and the literary imagination in the conceptualization of islands, as well as writings by pre-eminent Canadian authors Michael Crummey, Alistair MacLeod and Audrey Thomas.

Click here for John G. Boehme's Trade Route (performance on November 27)

Emily Carr
permanent exhibition

Emily Carr in her Studio BC Archives Photo # D-06009

October 3, 2001 to

This permanent exhibition, with works rotating on a regular basis, gives you a chance to see our entire Carr collection over a period of years. It integrates Carr's writings, works from the Gallery collection and images from the British Columbia Provincial archives to create a compelling portrait of this pre-eminent Victoria Artist.

LAB 4.5:Elizabeth Mackenzie
Child of Slow Time

Elizabeth Mackenzie, Child of Slow Time (detail), 2004 ink wash on rice paper

January 14, 2005 to February 27, 2005

Vancouver artist Elizabeth Mackenzie is intrigued by the relationship between human face recognition and the genre of portraiture. Mackenzie notes, "Our brains are neurologically organized to recognize patterns in general and faces in particular. Psychologists call the pattern that constitutes the face a 'preferred pattern. 'We are predisposed, even at infancy, to try and make sense of it."

Mackenzie visited Victoria last summer to research portraits in the Art Gallery's permanent collection. Child of Slow Time is an installation based on the work Baby with Bib, a drawing by an unknown artist of an unknown child. Using this portrait as her source, Mackenzie creates her work on-site: a series of graphite renderings, interspersed with ink wash drawings on rice paper, drawn or placed directly onto the gallery walls.
The subject of representation is emphasized through repetition, accumulation and the ephemeral nature of the materials used, speaking to the instability of representation. Mackenzie’s drawings function, as the original may have done, as a memorial for an unknown child; a representation of inconstancy and loss.

Mowry Baden and Roland Brener:
Thirty Years in Victoria

top: Roland Brener, Maquette for Radioville, 2004 bottom: Mowry Baden, Maquette for Night is for Sleeping / Day is for Resting, 1994

March 4, 2005 to April 3, 2005

This exhibition explores the sculptural influence brought to the region by these two significant artists through a two-part exhibition. Baden and Brener came to the city in the 1970s and have influenced a generation of young artists through their teaching in the University of Victoria's sculpture program. Nationally and internationally prominent, the two have continued a vital practice in Victoria. Part one, presented in this exhibition, focuses on their public art projects. Part two, to be shown in January 2006, will present sculptural works by both artists that were created for gallery exhibition.

ROLAND BRENER: RADIOVILLE

Radioville is a preview of a major public art project commissioned by Toronto-based Context Development Incorporated, for their architectural complex, “Radio City”, and is scheduled to be installed in the Spring of 2005. It emerged from a competition through the City of Toronto's public art program. Comprised of 34 units of brushed steel, the works fuse domestic architecture, computer-assisted design and utopian ideas of urban living. The final project appears as a glowing cityscape in stainless steel. Brener describes his project as creating "a village to look down on from the high-rises, the little houses, sort of like alphabet soup, lit at night to welcome visitors and residents."

FROM WILD CELERY TO THE FULCRUM OF VISION: PUBLIC ART PROJECTS BY MOWRY BADEN

This exhibition features maquettes and drawings with video documentation in a study of the public art projects undertaken by Mowry Baden. Victoria filmaker Grace Salez’s short film examines Baden’s public art practice while the exhibition presents works from Victoria, Vancouver, Seattle and California. Both demonstrate components specific to the practice of public art, from research to installation. Baden comments on the differences in his public art and studio practice, "In most cases, people encounter studio art in galleries. The art gallery is a destination, a space designed specifically to frame the artist's ideas, and the viewer goes there deliberately to receive those ideas. The viewer can come or go, or if she chooses, can stay and stay. In these situations, the art can be as complex and particular as the artist chooses, even to the point of resisting comprehension. Public art, on the other hand, is usually located in spaces whose primary purpose is something other than the display of art. Here, people encounter the art without the intention they bring to the gallery. Regardless of how complex or particular the art may be, most visitors will not give it a second glance as they go on their way from point A to point B. At best, they may perhaps promise themselves to come back later and give it a closer look, but the artist can't count on it. ... the artist who understands the nature of the viewer's relationship to public art will know that it must deliver much of its impact at first sight." From Wild Celery... offers a thorough examination of the multi-faceted process of Baden’s public art practice.

Birds, Beasts, Blossoms and Bugs:
20th Century Chinese Painting

Mei Zhongzhi, Sparrows, 20th century ink on paper Gift of Brian McElney

March 4, 2005 to May 15, 2005

Brian S. McElney, from Bath, England, has donated over 350 twentieth century Chinese paintings to the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria over the past decade. This exhibition features a sizeable number of these paintings whose subject matter is birds, animals, flowers and insects. The Chinese portrayal of creatures and plants can be quite different from Western depictions. Flowers, animals, insects and birds are depicted with great elegance and frequently with humour, which is characteristic of the best in Chinese art. Subtlety of tone, simplicity and quietude can be found in these nature paintings. The artists' sensitivity to compositional elements is further enhanced by luxuriant colours and meticulous brushstrokes. In their passion for painting nature, the Chinese devoted the same skill that Western artists dedicated to portraiture and still-lifes. Their paintings have an underlying simplicity not bound by time or place and are aimed at being at harmony with nature. Some major 20th century Chinese artists included in this exhibition are Cui Zifan, Gao Jianfu, Huang Yongyu, Li Kuchan, Lin Fengmian, Lu Hui, Wu Changshuo, Xu Beihong and Chao Shaoang, to name a few.

Small Treasures:
Indian and Persian Miniatures

Unknown Artist, Illustrated Persian Calligraphy depicting a Religious Battle Between a Moslem Saint and a Hindu Army, c1800 gouache on paper AGGV 1993.034.002 Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J.L. Minnis

March 4, 2005 to May 15, 2005

Indian and Persian miniature paintings and calligraphy demonstrate the variety and excellence of artistic expression within the limitations of a book page. Not only was the miniature painter confined by the small scale but also sometimes by the encroaching calligraphy around the painting. Artists often had limited creative freedom since the images they painted were often prescribed by religion, mythology, literature or the wishes of the patron. The brushes the artists used were of the utmost fineness and flexibility – some with only the tip of a single hair.

The miniature prints include Muslim themes as well as some Rajput paintings produced by Hindu artists. Calligraphy miniatures were ranked foremost among the arts of the Islamic book. The Koran is considered the visual manifestation of God's words and Islamic calligraphers were esteemed above all other artists and craftsmen. They received honours greater than most skilled painters. This exhibition features some recent donations from Dr. and Mrs. Morris Shumiatcher and Mr. and Mrs. J.L. Minnis as well as paintings and calligraphy which have been in the collection for some time, but have not been shown recently.

The Discerning Eye:
The George and Lola Kidd Collection

Frederick Varley, Steeple Mountain from Kaskanook, 1957 oil on board AGGV 1997.021.005 Gift of George and Lola Kidd

March 11, 2005 to May 8, 2005

As supporters of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, George P. Kidd and Lola Kidd contributed an enormous amount of time, energy and commitment to our institution. They were also avid collectors and their collection grew to include works by some of the best Canadian artists working in the 20th century. The Gallery has been informed that we are a major beneficiary of George's estate and important works from his personal collection will be donated to us.
It is most fitting that we celebrate the generosity and foresight of George and Lola Kidd through this exhibition, which features works by important Canadian artists as James Wilson Morrice, Maurice Cullen, Frederick Varley and J.E.H. MacDonald. As the Kidds were keen collectors of the decorative arts as well as Japanese prints, the exhibition also features pressed glass and a selection of prints by Hiroshi Yoshida.
We are pleased to report that, thanks to George's generosity, the Art Gallery will be establishing a new memorial fund for the acquisition of works of art produced in British Columbia. Further, a substantial contribution is being added to the Gallery’s existing George and Lola Kidd Fund for the acquisition of objects in the decorative arts.

Byron Johnston:
Between the Lines – Part 2

Byron Johnston, Between the Lines - Part 1 (installation view), 2002-03 Kelowna Art Gallery

March 11, 2005 to June 5, 2005

Kelowna artist Byron Johnston constructs an installation that calls on the architectural space of the Ker Gallery. Utilizing nylon twine to create a series of "walls" within the exhibition space, the work is intended to trigger revelations about the viewer's interior world through the creation of a unique perceptual space. At once an architectural, graphic and sound work – should the viewer choose to activate the material's acoustic possibilities – Johnston incorporates several miles of twine to execute the project.

Johnston says, "My work is less about sculpture and more about interaction. I encourage spectators to participate and activate the sculpture to experience the perceptual or physical consequences, to create a sense of embodiment. The viewers’ challenge is to evaluate competing perceptions, while being placed in unorthodox positions, becoming more aware of the capabilities and vulnerabilities of the body and to gain insight into their own balance and vision."
Between the Lines – Part 2 challenges the senses to redefine or translate perceptions that call attention to the infinite articulation of the body.

“Perceptual cognition is an area of current, inter-disciplinary science research which examines information processing. Some of the most interesting pieces for me are those that use science. This work is the integration of scientific discovery and artmaking. Whether positioned in a natural environment or in a gallery, my work disrupts the habitual perceptions that shape our understanding and intends to encourage communication," Johnston says.
Integrating the four columns into the twine work, Johnston will utilize Ker Gallery’s rectilinear space to reveal opportunities for new, thought-provoking experiences. For example, by lowering the ceiling using approximately 7200 ft of nylon twine, the viewer will be challenged to evaluate competing perceptions. The work will emphasize interactions between the intellect, the body and the lived experience.
Byron Johnston received an MFA from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1990 and a BFA from the University of Victoria (1988). His work has been featured in Malaysia, Ireland and California, as well as in Washington State, through the Seattle Art in the Park series and the Bellevue Sculpture Park. In Canada, Johnston has exhibited at SKOL and CIRCA Galleries, Montreal; University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Kelowna Art Gallery, Art Gallery of the South Okanagan, and Vancouver Art Gallery. An upcoming exhibition at Kamloops Art Gallery is scheduled for the Spring, 2005. He is Associate Professor of Sculpture at the Okanagan University College in Kelowna, where he lives and works.