Upcoming Exhibitions
Ivory: Chinese and Japanese Carved Masterpieces
April 2, 2010 to July 25, 2010
In China and Japan, the elephant is the symbol of strength, sagacity and prudence. The AGGV has one of the largest and most impressive collections of Chinese ivory carvings in the world and a fairly good collection of Japanese ivory carvings. More than one hundred specimens will be on display.
James Gordaneer
April 9, 2010 to June 6, 2010
This solo exhibition explores the work of one of Victoria’s most prolific painters. In a career that has spanned almost sixty years, James Gordaneer work has engaged with the major painting movements that influenced North American painters from Modernist Abstraction and Surrealism to Post Painterly Abstraction and Neo Expressionism, to his most recent works which incorporate and reflect on his entire career in a distillation of skill, critical knowledge and an embrace of contemporary painting influences.
Kent Monkman - The Triumph of Mischief
June 18, 2010 to October 12, 2010
Kent Monkman is a Toronto-based artist of Cree and Irish ancestry. He produces work in a variety of media, including painting, video, film, photography, sculpture, installation, and performance. Monkman draws inspiration from the histories depicted in 19th century art, including photography and Romantic painting, colonial portrayals of Aboriginal peoples and cinematic genres such as classic Hollywood westerns. Using these conventions, he constructs new stories through images that take into account missing narratives and perspectives of Aboriginal peoples.
Emily Carr: On the Edge of Nowhere
June 30, 2010 to
Although Emily Carr described herself as an “isolated little old woman on the edge of nowhere” her work has an appeal that is universal in its expressive messages. With this exhibition, the AGGV will become the premiere destination on Vancouver Island to visit and learn about Emily Carr through her paintings. On the Edge of Nowhere will include an historical survey of Carr’s artistic career, featuring pieces in all the media and styles she explored and perfected. It will also focus on Carr’s influences and inspirations, such as European modern art, members of the Group of Seven artists, First Nations artists, Carr’s spirituality, and her interest in developing an art that speaks of her personal experience and her connection to the West Coast landscape.
SMASH: International Indigenous Weaving
April 30, 2010 to August 22, 2010
SMASH will showcase work that is vital to an understanding of Aboriginal work from the Coast Salish, Micmaq, American Southwest, Alaskan, and Hawaiian regions. The exhibition will explore the influences of geographic boundaries; the unique materiality of the practice (including wool, bull rush, cedar root and bark, flax, etc); cultural and spiritual uses such as ceremonial naming, births, deaths, marriages and new songs; as well as confluences and contrasts in design concepts.