Persian Steel: The Tanavoli Collection

This fascinating collection of steel objects, dating from the 16th to the early 20th century, tells a compelling story about life in the Middle East during this period. Objects made of steel were associated with every aspect of traditional Persian life, from war and hunting, through to religious life, the marketplace and the domestic environment….

Lab 6.5: The Fortress of History, Ian Birse & Laura Kavanaugh

For their LAB project, Ian Birse and Laura Kavanagh collaborate in discovering what is underfoot. Walking the streets of Victoria, they documented the discovery of discarded objects, photographing them on-site as well and recording a sonic snapshot of sounds at each location. In the process, the artists present performances for accidental audiences.

Kavanagh and Birse state,…

LAB 6.4: The Vegetarians, Yvette Poorter

In the LAB 6.4, Yvette Poorter re-contextualizes historical works of art from the Gallery?s permanent collection?including landscape paintings, still life, and animal figurines?with her own photographs to create an installation in the manner of an 19th century salon exhibition. Invoking sociological study with an erotic twist, Poorter posits the grain-fed, free-range, handsome, healthy, urban vegetarian…

Baroque Masterworks from the National Gallery of Canada

The Art Gallery will be hosting an exhibition of 12 precious Baroque masterwork paintings from the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Canada by the likes of Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt van Rijn, and Nicholas Poussin. Baroque Masterworks from the National Gallery of Canada features Italian, French, Spanish, Dutch and Flemish paintings dating from…

Misshapen Pearl: The Baroque Era

Curated by Patricia Kidd, Stephen Topfer & Tamara Schweeder

Initially used as a derogatory term by art critics the word baroque is the French translation of the Portuguese word borrocco, meaning misshapen pearl. It was not long, however, before Baroque became synonymous with the darkly shadowed, richly coloured and evocative works of the time following the…

Peculiar Culture: The Contemporary Baroque

Curated by Lisa Baldissera

Peculiar Culture explores contemporary expressions of the Baroque through the works of Victoria-based artist Luanne Martineau and British artists Jake and Dinos Chapman.

Like the Baroque artists, they combine beauty, perversity, humour and horror to engage the audience with their elaborate executions. Luanne Martineau addresses social realism, racism and conceits of high modernism….

Ancient Bronzes of the Asian Grasslands

Curated by Trudy S. Kawami, The Sackler Foundation ?Great art, like science and the humanities, can never remain as the possession of one individual, creator or collector ? great art and all culture belongs to all humankind.?

Arthur M. Sackler, MD The Eurasian grasslands, also known as the steppes, cover a region extending from northern China…

Kappazuri

Japanese Stencil Prints

These innovative Japanese stencil prints are the inspiration of Mori Yoshitoshi and Sadao Watanabe

who adapted a printmaking technique that was initially used for dyeing clothes. Originally working with kimono textiles, Yoshitoshi?s prints have been shown around the world. Watanabe?s prints, which have also received international acclaim, are set apart from traditional Japanese prints due to…

LAB 6.3: In Growing

Curated by Lisa Baldissera. Painter Stephen B. Nguyen and sculptor Wade Kavanaugh create collaborative installations using elements from their independent practice to address the uncertain territory between imagined and physical space….