Ben Skinner @ Back Gallery

Vancouver artist Ben Skinner’s new show at Back Gallery is, in a word, colourful.

The exhibit exuberantly alights on vibrant hues, though while rife with fun rainbows and grin-inducing optical illusions, it’s powered by Skinner’s sharp perceptiveness, as well as an abundant appreciation of whimsy and of the joy to be had in the world if one only looks for it ("I play the ukelele while I wait for things to save on my computer!" he told me). One piece features the inscription "You’re still there when I close my eyes" on an amorphous yellowish shape that evokes the phosphenes (those amoeba-ish sunbursts) you see inside shut eyelids. The collection harkens to a certain unselfconscious childhood nostalgia, with pencil crayons and puzzle pieces and the funny parallels between pickles and Cheetos, yet throughout it all, Skinner’s skill and artistic precision beams through like a ray of cartoon sun.

Great collections resonate, and Skinner’s evokes something sweet and soulful from deep within. —Adrienne Matei

Colouring Outside and Reading Between, Exhibition of Works by Ben Skinner, June 6th to June 28th at Back Gallery, 602 E. Hastings St., Vancouver, www.backgalleryproject.com