Gallery Openings: 5 Vancouver Art Exhibits to See in April

Field Work by Pierre Coupey

Pierre Coupey’s Field paintings focus on the field, the field of experience, the field of battle, the field of the past, the wheat fields of the Prairies, of France and of the Ukraine, the opening of the field to notes and languages left as a trace, a blur, an indecipherable script.

The lines illegibly inscribed in the paint in red are taken from Erin Mouré’s recent book of poems, The Unmemntioable (Anansi, 2012), a book of texts in which she crosses “borders of culture and memory” in multiple languages.

BC Connection: A founding co-editor of The Georgia Straight and the founding editor of The Capilano Review, Pierre Coupey now lives in West Vancouver.

Exhibit Details: The exhibit runs from April 4 – 27, 2013 at Gallery Jones, 1725 West 3rd Avenue, Vancouver, BC. Gallery hours are Tuesday – Friday: 11am – 6pm, Saturday: noon – 5pm.

Opening Details: Don’t miss the opening reception on Thursday, April 4 from 5 – 8 pm.

Above: Field Notes VI by Pierre Coupey, oil on canvas, 20″ x 20″.

Strange Songs of Trust and Treachery by Laura Lamb

Laura Lamb is a Vancouver-based artist whose latest exhibit features installations from one of her projects, Lamb’s Performing Objects.

Russian lacquerware, rusty metal household objects and clockwork mechanisms perform in Bits and Tatters, the first installment of a video trilogy. Accompanying this video is a song that Lamb wrote and produced with composer and singer, Beverly Dobrinsky.

“My work investigates the gaps and disjunctions between the frailty and clumsiness of performing objects (for example puppets, toys or masks) and their power as producers of complex and compelling narrative,” says Lamb. “It’s in these gaps where the comedic and transcendent power of objects is able to emerge.”


BC Connection: Laura Lamb lives and works in Vancouver, BC. She earned a BA at SFU Centre for the Arts and an MFA at the University of Victoria.

Exhibit Details: The exhibit runs from April 5 – May 4, 2013 at grunt gallery, 350 East 2nd Avenue, Vancouver, BC (look for the red sign). Gallery hours: Tues – Sat, 12 – 5pm.

Opening Details: The opening reception takes place Friday, April 5 from 7 – 10 pm.

Above: Performing Object Balancing Act, by Laura Lamb.

Materially Speaking, a group exhibition of artists Jen Aitken, Lou Lynn, Brendan Lee Satish Tang, and Julie York

This exhibit features sculpture works by a new generation of artists who are returning to craft methodologies as a means of re-invigorating craft while bringing an intellectual rigour to the objects they make. Connections with the familiar lead the way to a change in perspective.

BC Connections: Jen Aitken and Julie York both earned their BFAs from Emily Carr University of Art + Design, and Julie York is currently on the faculty at Emily Carr.


Exhibit Details: The exhibit runs from April 14 – June 9, 2013 at the Richmond Art Gallery, 7700 Minoru Gate, Richmond, BC. Gallery hours are Monday to Friday, 10 am to 6 pm, Thursday until 9 pm, and weekends 10 am to 5 pm.

Opening Details: An informal artist talk and tour will take place in the art gallery on Saturday, April 13, from 2:30 – 3:00 pm, followed by the opening reception from 3 – 5 pm that same day. The Richmond Art Gallery has many special events planned including Richmond Doors Open 2013 on May 4. Check the website for more details.

Above: Tools as Artifacts, 2008-10,by Lou Lynn, glass and bronze.

Grand Hotel: Redesigning Modern Life

Everyone has a hotel story. It may be about a hotel they’ve stayed at, read about or have seen in a film. Whatever the circumstances, these stories represent the unique status of the hotel in the context of contemporary life. This major exhibition charts the evolution of the hotel from its humble origins as an isolate and utilitarian structure to a cultural phenomenon that figures prominently within the global landscape. This exhibit started online in 2011 with a blog, and the exhibition opens April 13.

Exhibit Details: From April 13 – September 15, 2013 at the Vancouver Art Gallery, 750 Hornby Street, Vancouver, BC. Gallery hours are Daily, 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesdays until 9 pm. Spring admission rates are on the gallery website. 


Opening Details: The Members’ Opening takes place in the gallery on Saturday, April 13 at 7 pm. On Sunday, April 14 at 2 pm, join Jennifer M. Volland, guest curator, Bruce Grenville, senior curator, and assistant curator Stephanie Rebick for a talk and tour of the exhibit.

Above: Kozy Koach, El Cosmico, Marfa, 2009.

Uncovered, a group exhibition featuring the work of BC artists

The nude figure has been a source of inspiration and fascination for artists from antiquity to the 21st century. The North Vancouver Community Arts Council is presenting an exhibition inspired by the nude, featuring a diverse mix of styles and media, with photography, drawing, painting and sculpture works from 38 artists.

BC Connection: 37 of the artists participating in this exhibition are from BC. While most of these are from North Vancouver, artists from West Vancouver, Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, Coquitlam, Richmond, Penticton and Kelowna are also represented.

Exhibit Details: The exhibit runs from Apr 19 – May 11, 2013 at CityScape Community Art Space, 335 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, BC. Gallery hours are Monday to Saturday 12 – 5pm.

Opening Details: Don’t miss the opening reception on Thursday, April 18 from 7 – 9 pm. Check the website for information about free drawing workshops that focus on drawing the hands and feet.

Above: Release by Caroline Dahlmanns