Evangelitsa Pappas
Recollections of the Matriarch, 1993
mixed media on canvas
Collection of Kamloops Art Gallery
Gift of City of Kamloops from 1993 Canada Summer Games
Public art museums are about collections, and the Kamloops Art Gallery’s has grown from 65 works in 1987 to just over 2000 in this 25th anniversary year, many acquired through generous donations from artists and private collectors.
The first gifts to the permanent collection actually predate the existence of the Gallery. In 1970, Mr. J. E. Fitzwater, Mayor of Kamloops from 1952 to 1961, passed away and left four items in the custody of the Kamloops Museum & Archives to be held "on loan and in trust until such time as Kamloops shall have an Art Gallery of its own." Among the four items were three handsome oil sketches by A.Y. Jackson (1882-1974). Since this donation, the KAG has added several other Jacksons to the collection. Two of these are now traveling in a nation-wide exhibition titled The Group of Seven in Western Canada, organized by the Glenbow Museum.
In 1979, the Gallery received a gift of 11 works of art from the Kamloops Arts & Crafts Club. This collection of works by local artists was augmented by gifts from the Community Arts Council of Kamloops and generous patrons.
Celebrating the Local highlights 66 of 366 works produced by artists who have lived or presently live and work in Kamloops or the Thompson-Nicola region. Many community members who have played a part in the KAG’s 25-year history were invited to curate the exhibition. Each guest curator received a CD with information and images of all the work in the local collection and was asked to select a work.
Making a choice between one work and another is never easy: some people select art they can identify with, while others prefer a more complex, challenging work. None the less, what matters is that you appreciate the work, and as your appreciation and involvement in the looking process matures, art that is emotionally or intellectually challenging becomes more rewarding.
We thank everyone who took the time to review the CD and make a selection for the 25th Anniversary show.
Donovan Harrison
Enter at your own risk, 2003
The Kamloops Art Gallery is commemorating its 25th Anniversary, and in celebration of this significant event, we would like to thank the individuals who have supported and fostered the arts in Kamloops.
One of the premiere achievements in KAG’s 25-year history was the building of the new facility, and the exhibition in The Cube acknowledges this architectural achievement. From amateur to professional submissions, these visions of the new Kamloops Art Gallery are as varied as the community members whose passion for the arts has allowed us to celebrate this milestone in an award-winning facility.
All works in The Cube are for sale
Al McNair, Mayor Mel Rothenburger and Jann Bailey
Have you ever wanted to own a work you’ve seen at the Kamloops Art Gallery? Then the 15th Annual Original Art Auction Preview is what you’ve been waiting for, bigger and better than ever! This exhibition features art work by generous local artists and friends of the Gallery. Toni Onley, in advance of his major exhibition next summer at the KAG, has donated a watercolour. Celebrated Canadian artists Eric Metcalfe, George Raab, and Barbara Astman have contributed work to this year’s event, and well-known artists from our area, including Bill Edmonds and Delores Smith, have donated exceptional works that are sure to inspire a flurry of bidding on auction night.
In addition to these fantastic works, local businesses let their commitment to the arts shine by donating valuable services and experiences to be auctioned alongside the art work. Join us at the Gallery to view this year’s auction items and to select your favourite to bid on at the gala dinner and auction on Saturday, October 4.
Saul Miller
Blazer Spirit, 2003
A perfect fit for Kamloops, Saul Miller’s work features sports iconography, bringing together the worlds of art and sport in a city known for its strength in both. The works explore the glorification of the modern athlete through tongue-in-cheek depictions of sports heroes as religious icons.
Saul Miller is a graduate of McGill University and has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. In addition to being a visual artist, he is an internationally renowned sports psychologist whose clients have included the Vancouver Canucks, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Rams, and Kings, Seattle Mariners, PGA Tour golfers, Olympians, and, of course, our Kamloops Blazers.
Miller began his painting career in the 1960s in Montreal. He moved to Vancouver in 1986 and has studied at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design.
Miller says about his art, “I would describe my paintings as whimsical. Much of my recent work has focused on sport. I see sport as a wonderful forum of human expression. My sport paintings reflect the circus atmosphere of competition, the iconization and glorification of the modern athlete.”
Artist unknownRadha and Krishna, c.1850-1899opaque watercolour on light boardCollection of National Gallery of Canada, OttawaGift of Max Tanenbaum, Toronto, 1979
In 1980, the National Gallery of Canada acquired the Max Tanenbaum collection, one of the most significant gifts in its history. These works were originally acquired from the famous Heeramaneck Collection. Nasli Heeramaneck was known as one of New York's foremost collectors of South Asian and Southeast Asian art during the 1960s and 70s. The Kamloops Art Gallery is honoured to host a spectacular exhibition of these works entitled Gods, Demons and Princes: Masterpieces of Indian and Himalayan Art from the National Gallery of Canada.
This exhibition of Southeast Asian art includes a diverse selection of eighty-five works including stone and bronze sculptures, traditional miniature paintings, and thankas. Thankas are the ancient art form of Tibetan scroll painting; the scrolls are hand painted using organic paints or stone pigments on a cotton canvas base and decorated with gold leaf. They were traditionally hung in a monastery or on a family altar and carried by lamas in ceremonial processions. As a meditation tool, the sacred images are intended to nurture the practitioners' development.
Works in this exhibit are from the 7th to 19th centuries, and were originally collected from the subcontinent India, Nepal, and Tibet. The three religions whose divinities and mythologies are the subject matter for many of the works in this exhibition are Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. In addition to providing an opportunity to view these important works, this exhibition and the accompanying publication foster a deeper understanding of diversity and invite reflection on issues of politics, religion, and culture from historic and contemporary perspectives.
Delores Smith48 West Battle St., n.d.watercolourCollection of the Artist
The CUBE features two local artists whose works depict the Kamloops region’s significant architecture and spectacular scenery.
An established painter, Delores Smith studies unique architecture, familiar sites and local traditions, such as the Farmers’ Market, to chronicle a changing city. Her fascination with well-known residences has resulted in an extensive series of intricate watercolours instantly recognizable to residents of the city and easily appreciated by visitors.
Rod Gott, a Kamloops painter, is exhibiting his works for the first time at the Kamloops Art Gallery. In his early years while still at high school, he had the opportunity to study with renowned Canadian painter Jack Shadboldt, who influenced his artistic direction. He works in oils and creates small to mid-size landscapes of Kamloops and the region.
Lori NewdickMann Dancer, 2001Fujicolour print on PlexiglasCollection of Kamloops Art Gallery
The Kamloops Art Gallery is pleased to exhibit the recently-acquired photographic series Lure by Canadian artist Lori Newdick. Lure consists of provocatively-named fishing lures suspended against a water-blue colour field. The sensual shapes and colours of these inanimate objects coupled with their names, such as Lady Lipstick, allow the artist to explore commodification and stereotyping from a feminist-informed point of view. This contemporary take on the fishing lure is juxtaposed with the vintage fishing lure sculptures already in the Gallery’s collection.
Sue Lloydnight/storm, 2001digitally manipulated photographPhoto courtesy of the artist
In searchworks, Toronto artist Sue Lloyd investigates conceptual and visual contrasts. Through digitally produced, photo-based diptychs Lloyd exposes divergent worlds: an upper world of light and air inhabited by women peering curiously into the water below and a world beneath the surface of the water, where women swim, self-absorbed and unaware of their counterparts.
J.R. GanungKamloops Ice Fishing Decoy, n.d.wood, paint, metal, glassCollection of Kamloops Art Gallery
This is the inaugural exhibition of the Kamloops Art Gallery’s collection of fish decoys, collected to reflect Kamloops’ renown as a major fresh-water fishing centre. Used in ice fishing, the decoys entice fish close to the surface so they can be speared. During the last two years the Gallery has collected over eighty brightly-coloured decoys, many like the ones featured in the exhibition Beneath the Ice: The Art of the Fish Decoy, organized and circulated by the Museum of American Folk Art and shown at the KAG in 1991. These unique works represent a meeting of utility and charm, which is characteristic of many folk art works
Leslie Bolin’s use of the salmon as a metaphor for journey has brought the Heffley Lake artist acclaim in both local and international exhibitions. The artist equates the will of the salmon, reflected in its phenomenal migratory story, to our own human potential. Bolin, a recognized ceramist, makes a departure in her new body of work, A Fish Tale, in which she incorporates electronic signage with video footage to further explore life’s temporal nature.
Renée Van Halm12,500 SF., 2002gouachePhoto: Kim Clarke Photography
Dream Home features new works by well-known Vancouver-based artist Renée Van Halm. The works in the exhibition were inspired by Vancouver’s Multiple Listings Service (MLS), a database for prospective purchasers of houses and condominiums in the city. Dream Home is a sculptural installation based on the largest and smallest individual units for sale on a given day in 2001. Van Halm has produced scale models of the homes, recreating each room as a small, monochromatically-painted wooden facsimile. Listings, a series of two-dimensional watercolours, is also the product of source material provided by the MLS. In these images Van Halm has employed the perspective and aerial views of a number of houses for sale, reproducing them as evocative, romanticized home portraits.
A collaborative publication produced by Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, Kamloops Art Gallery, and Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, accompanies the exhibition. This full-colour publication features essays by Lisa Robertson and Sherry McKay.
Susan SchuppliDomicile, 1995digital c-print on PlexiglasCollection of Kamloops Art Gallery
This colourful photo-based installation addresses the terrain of the home, both the private interior site traditionally considered a “feminine” space, and the place where dreams and expectations are housed. Susan Schuppli donated Domicile to the Kamloops Art Gallery permanent collection in 1999, and this is the first time it has been exhibited.
The works in Schuppli's Domicile and Bill Edmonds Candid Moments become a thought-provoking counterpoint to Van Halm's Dream Home. Schuppli and Edmonds provide insight into the emotionally charged activities that take place in the privacy of the home.
Bill EdmondsA Candid Moment, 2002house paint on PlexiglasPhoto: Kim Clarke Photography
Merritt-based artist Bill Edmonds is inspired by candid moments captured through the lens of his camera. He employs a combination of media and techniques to convey these unscripted moments in life. He makes quick sketch-style renderings by applying common house paint to Plexiglas panels. Some of the paintings are then photographed and printed onto large-scale photo paper. Edmonds’ labour-intensive process creates another layer to his visual exploration and reveals the charged undercurrents of everyday life experiences.
Yoko TakashimaThree Buddhas, 2001digitally enhanced photographPhoto courtesy of the artist
This comprehensive, mixed-media exhibition provides an overview of Yoko Takashima’s production from 1995 to 2002. Large-format colour photographs and oversize projections confront the viewer with images of private matters and domestic relationships that have universal relevance. The artist’s newly-acquired roles as mother and caregiver are threaded throughout the newer works in the exhibition.
Older works in the exhibition Bound relate to Takashima’s newer works in that the images, featuring common subject matter such as tooth-brushing, hand-washing, and inter-family relationships, subtly act as the catalyst for her explorations of the emotions associated with parenting: anxiety, vulnerability and obsessiveness.
The exhibition is acccompanied by a catalogue with essay by Mowry Baden, published collaboratively by Kamloops Art Gallery and Southern Alberta Art Gallery.
Eldon GarnetWhen (teeth), 1995Collection of Kamloops Art GalleryGift of Jay Cohen
Worthy Subjects explores a wide range of contemporary photographic works from the Kamloops Art Gallery Permanent Collection by artists Raymonde April, Barbara Astman, Eldon Garnet, Glenn Lewis, Ken Lum, Kate McGregor, April Hickox, David Neel, Melanie Stidolph, Douglas Walker, and Ian Wallace. Processes featured in this exhibition include silver prints and digital photographs, and the works range from staged portraits to snap-shot styles.
These works were created within a variety of broader social and political contexts, and were selected for how they convey these contexts as well as for their formal attributes. The theme that unties these works is the artist’s attention to the subject, and the unique relationship that results in the training of an artist’s lens upon a person or thing. The question of photography’s past, present, and future identity is addressed in this exhibit both through processes used and through content chosen by the artist.
Kim Clarke Photography Copyright © 2012, Kamloops Art Gallery. All Rights Reserved. Powered by SiteCMTM— web content management made easy by ideaLEVER Solutions.
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