VISUAL ARTS

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW Shakespeare and Serrano add sizzle to visual arts

by Carlito Pablo and Charlie Smith

This is shaping up as quite a memorable year for lovers of visual arts in Vancouver. And we’re not even through February yet. ere’s a rst edition of William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies already on display at the Vancouver Art Gallery, which is also hosting an exhibition of Yoko Ono’s work. e Museum of Anthropology at UBC has the blockbuster Sankofa exhibition, which weaves together the works of African and Black Canadian artists, along with a large serving of context. Anyone interested in exploring the complex relationship between contemporary art by Black Canadians and pieces created in Africa needs to see this show, which is cocurated by MOA curator Nuno Porto, UBC PhD candidate Titilope Salami, and Nya Lewis, founder of BlackArt Gastown.

Over at the rennie museum in the Wing Sang Building in Chinatown, works from three in uential photographers—Larry Clark, Katy Grannan, and the o en controversial Andres Serrano—will be presented in a single show in March. Serrano actually never called himself a photographer; he studied painting and sculpture and considers himself an artist with a camera. He has generated outrage at di erent times with his images of sex, burn victims, and the morgue, to name a few subjects that have attracted his eye.

We seek beauty in things, places, and people, almost as if we’re hardwired to do so. e visual arts is one domain where beauty o en thrives. And there’s a lot of that in the city this spring, including at the upcoming Capture Photography Festival, which is at many locations around the city in April.

Here’s just a snapshot of what’s available around town over the next couple of months.

Sankofa: African Routes, Canadian Roots (Museum of Anthropology at UBC, until March 27) Sankofa derives its name from the Ghanaian Akan language, incorporating the notion of moving forward while reaching back to connect to one’s heritage. It’s the ideal name for this exhibition, which draws connections to historical contributions and the growing vitality of Canadians of Black heritage through works by contemporary artists from Africa and Vancouver.

Yoko Ono: Growing Freedom (Vancouver Art Gallery, running until May 1) This show features two parts. “The instructions of Yoko Ono” delves into Ono’s artistic process, reflecting her radical and unconventional approach. The exhibited works include pieces that require visitors to actually complete the work, according to the VAG, in pieces such as MEND PIECE, 1966; PAINTING TO HAMMER A NAIL, 1966; and MY MOMMY IS BEAUTIFUL, 1997.

I am Queen Idia, the Angel of Kings, by Victor Ehikhamenor, is included in Sankofa at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC. Photo by Sarah Rice, courtesy of the Museum of Anthropology at UBC.

For All Time: e Shakespeare FIRST

FOLIO (Vancouver Art Gallery, running until March 20) is exhibition o ers Vancouverites a chance to not only take a peek at the rst edition of Shakespeare’s comedies, histories, and tragedies, but it also o ers insights into what life was like in London more than 400 years ago.

Canadian Historical Work: Romancing

e Landscape (Petley Jones Gallery, until February 24) e 2245 Granville Street gallery celebrates the works of Canadian artists who have shared their love of the country’s breathtaking landscapes with the world through their works: Clarence Gagnon, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. Macdonald, A.Y. Jackson, Henri Masson, Llewellyn Petley-Jones, and Robert Pilot.

Collected Works (rennie museum, March 12 to May 28) Dozens of images from three celebrated American artists—Larry Clark, Katy Grannan, and Andres Serrano—are going to generate a lot of chatter this spring. is exhibition carries a warning: some of the content may be o ensive, including images of su ering related to torture, death, adolescent drug use and gunplay, sex, religious references, and white supremacism.

Nourish (Richmond Art Gallery, until April 3) Artist duo Mizzonk (Wan-Yi Lin and Roger Chen) and Jane Wong explore themes around the very basic human compulsion to seek nourishment in order to survive.

Cloud Album (Polygon Gallery, March 11 to May 1) e exhibit features 250 photographs, image albums, and books that present a history of how scientists, artists, and amateurs have been able to capture the endless variability of clouds. March 20) Text and image play off each other in this collection of drawings, paintings, collage, sculptures, photocopies, silkscreen prints, and films spanning more than five decades of the late Canadian artist Panchal Mansaram, who liked to write his name without a space, thus P.Mansaram.

Shawn Hunt: e First Moonrise (Equinox Art Gallery, until March 19) e show continues Shawn Hunt’s exploration of Heiltsuk cosmologies through shapeshi ers and supernatural gures that move between the human and spirit realms.

Dan Starling: Unsettled Histories (Burnaby Art Gallery, until April 17) Interdisciplinary artist Dan Starling showcases drypoint prints with Rembrandt’s renowned work Christ Cruci ed Between the Two ieves: e ree Crosses (1653) as starting point.

P.Mansaram: e Medium is the Medium

is the Medium (Surrey Art Gallery, until Capture Photography Festival (April 1 to 29, many venues) With public art, exhibitions at many locations, and various events, this annual festival o ers a wide variety of choices for anyone with an interest in lens-based art. g