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Self-portrait with Sitka Spruce and Giant Machine 1993 Robert BATEMAN (b. 1930) acrylic on 9 panels 61 x 61 (each panel)
The well-known paintings of Robert Bateman embrace nature with detailed realism. In this work he has
painted himself dwarfed beside the cut end of a once magnificent Sitka Spruce in a helpless yet
defiant pose against the destructive power of the giant machine. He confronts the viewer with the
reality of old growth logging in a scene that most of us can only imagine. His own small stature is pitted
against the grandeur of nature and the economic powers that result in the loss of this great, living tree.
Bateman became a full time painter in 1976 after a successful teaching career. Three books on his art have
been published by Penguin Books: The Art of Robert Bateman (1981), The World of Robert Bateman (1985),
and An Artist in Nature (1990). | |
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Pot 1990 Walter DEXTER (b. 1931) raku 50.2
This work is an example of Walter Dexter's love of colour and studies in balance. The low temperature
of raku glaze allows for brighter colour, metallic details and subtle smoked or blackened areas. The two
smaller squared cylinders balance the one large one and free it from its usual function as a base. Walter
Dexter's goal is to achieve endless variety and to express emotional and spiritual concerns in his art, largely
through the enjoyment of the unexpected.
Walter Dexter works from his studio in Metchosin, BC and continues to teach. He is noted for his innovative
work with Raku and was the 1994 recipient of the prestigious Saldye Bronfman Award for Excellence in the
Field of Craft, one of Canada's highest artistic honours. Raku, a Japanese word for enjoyment or felicity,
refers to the ceramic firing process based on reduction, that developed in Korea and Japan in the 16th century. |
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Coffee Bar 1952 Sybil ANDREWS (1898 - 1993) linocut 26.5 x 26.8
Sybil Andrews' art shows her mastery at incorporating movement and large volumes of space into the small
square format of linocut prints. The angular jaw lines and plaid checkered shirts of the figures in this work combine
to convey the burley character of hunch-shouldered workmen on a coffee break. Her attention to pattern and bold
line creates an astounding amount of activity and brilliantly captures the essence of the scene.
Born at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, Sybil Andrews came to British Columbia in 1947 and settled in Campbell River,
Vancouver Island where she made prints of the local industrial activity surrounding her. She was an energetic and
articulate teacher who was elected to full membership in the Canadian Society of Printers, Etchers and Engravers in 1951. | |
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Trial of Tears 1991 David NEEL (b. 1960) photo silkscreen 72.4 x 55.8
A border of Northwest Coast coppers and eagles frames this photo silkscreen of Ellen Neel, the artist's grandmother.
It depicts her reaction to a guilty verdict at the 1922 trial of First Nations Elders who were convicted of holding a Potlatch.
As a result, the masks and regalia of the Potlatch were confiscated by the Canadian Government and sold to museum
collections in Canada and the United States. To date, many have been returned to the First Nations people and the Potlatch
ceremony has been revived.
David Neel draws on his Kwagiutl and European family heritage for his artistic direction, expressed through carving
and photography. His passion for collaborative documentary projects has resulted in the publication of
"Our Chiefs and Elders", in 1992. The work of photographer, W. Eugene Smith, inspired David Neel to try to
capture an incisive perception of human affairs in black and white images. |
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Gris Noir 1966 Jean (Hans) ARP (1887 - 1966) lithograph 69 x 50
Jean Arp's creative process deliberately evokes the laws of chance through paintings and prints composed out of
coloured shapes dropped on a surface. The delicate biomorphic shapes of this lithograph float on the surface of
this work like the pieces of a board game or leaves fallen randomly on the ground. They evoke a gentle humour like real
objects imbued with personality.
Jean (Han) Arp, born in Strasbourg, Germany, was a founding member of the Zurich Dada movement. He was
acclaimed for his painted wood reliefs, collages and Dadaist poems and published extensively about his views on art.
Dada, a French word meaning 'hobbyhorse', was invented during World War I. It used nonsense texts, abstract artworks
and performances to protest against the lofty pretensions of Western civilization. Eventually, the Dada exploration of the
irrational led to Surrealism. | |
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That's the Way It should have begun 1963 Roy LICHTENSTEIN (b. 1923) lithograph 90.2 x 89.6
This popular comic book image depicts a single narrative scene with enlarged benday dots, in which the viewer
is given minimal clues to piece the story together. In this example of pop art, Roy Lichtenstein used the visual
language, subjects and techniques of commercial printing and the comic strip to investigate the nature of urban
popular culture. He was one of the group of four Pop Art artists which included Claes Oldenberg, James Rosenquist
and Andy Warhol. |
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