Top 5 Exhibitions to Check out in Vancouver this Fall

By VITA Daily

There is so much to get excited about every fall: indulging in a new autumn wardrobe, updates from New York Fashion Week, September Vogue and so many exhibitions to see around the city! So many in fact that it’s not easy to pick just five exhibitions to check out, but we did it. We thought a highlight from each of the neighbourhoods would provide a cheese tray style sampling of what the city has to offer for visual art this season. Here are our top five picks. —Laura Busby

• Yaletown

  By VITA Daily

  The Contemporary Art Gallery presents the first Canadian solo exhibition by French artist Guillaume Leblon titled UNTANGLED FIGURES. The New York based artist works with a range of mediums including 3D printing and large scale hand blown glass. Leblon’s evocative sculptural objects and installations made from a myriad of materials will completely alter the gallery’s space, acoustics and architecture. Exhibition available October 14, 2016 – January 1, 2017. Admission is by donation. Opening reception (free) October 13, 7-9pm.

• Downtown

  By VITA Daily

  Treat yourself to the latest of the “in dialogue” with Emily Carr series at the Vancouver Art Gallery; home to the largest collection of the beloved Canadian artist’s work. Carr’s rich and dynamic paintings inspired by the deep forests of British Columbia provide endless ways to discuss her work. For the past few years the Gallery has been pairing select works with either historical or contemporary artists to provide unique and new insights into Carr’s life and paintings. The current pairing includes a peer of Carr, European Surrealist painter Wolfgang Paalen. Teasing out the spiritual curiosities Carr and Paalen shared in nature and the universe, the exhibition traces their careers chronologically to show how each artist was working through their interests; culminating in both of the artists’ peak spiritual revelations in gorgeous and transcendent canvases. The exhibition I Had an Interesting French Artist to See Me This Summer: Emily Carr and Wolfgang Paalen in British Columbia closes November 13, 2016. Adult admission: $24. Tuesday evenings 5pm-9pm: by donation.

• Chinatown

  By VITA Daily

  Currently on view at the ever elegant Access Gallery is work by Montreal and Zurich based artist Amélie Brisson-Darveau. Completely transforming the space is an installation evoking an indoor climbing gym; comprised of delicate and ornate porcelain grips and illusory faceted walls of blue pigment. While the walls are not actually climbable, as tempting as it may be, the space is constantly animated by ever changing daylight and shadows cast by the visitors. The silhouettes of bodies in the space creep up the climbing wall, defying gravity and activate for each visitor the artist’s interests in how the body moves in its surrounding environment. The exhibition Amélie Brisson-Darveau: Ascension is available September 10 – October 31, 2016. Admission is free.

• Great Northern Way aka “The Flats”

  By VITA Daily

  We recommend visiting Monte Clark’s exhibition featuring work by Montreal and Vancouver based artist Colleen Heslin titled Somatic Traditions. The artist’s abstract assemblages combine textiles, painting and sculpture. The typically flat surface of the canvas is delicately disrupted by layers of dyed and stitched fabrics with monochromatic and subtly contrasted hues; revealing a mediation of materials, colour and form. If you have questions about the artist, ask! Monte Clark has friendly and knowledgeable staff, and sometimes even the resident poodle will come over and say hi. The exhibition Colleen Heslin: Somatic Traditions is available September 10 – October 8, 2016. Admission is free.

• South Granville

  By VITA Daily

  Ok we cheated, we picked two highlights. In our defence this part of town aka “gallery row” has an abundance of shows to offer. Depending on what you fancy, painting or photography, we got you covered in this district. At Ian Tan Gallery you will find stunning still life paintings by Salt Spring Island based artist Wim Blom. Before turning his full attention to painting, Blom was a curator at the National Gallery of Canada and taught at University of the Witwatersrand and at the Johannesburg School of Art. Gallery 1515 presents Toronto based artist Amanda Arcuri’s evocative Land and Sky and Projector series. Remarkably, the artist captures fire, ice and light turning a landscape into an enigmatic, otherworldly image, suggesting a type of ritualistic performance in nature through the manipulation of the earthy elements. The images contemplate the delicate and complex relationship of humans and their environment. Ian Tan Gallery: WIM BLOM: Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings available September 10 – 29, 2016. Admission is free. Gallery 1515: Amanda Arcuri: Illumined available Sept 10 – Oct 9, 2016. Admission is free.