Decades ? Part IV: Art of the 1970s

This final installment of the popular four-part series Decades profiles works from our permanent collection produced in the 1970s and demonstrates the relationship between art, its time and its history.

In Canada and abroad, the 1970s were a period of continued interest in abstract painting. Many artists, including Kenneth Lochhead, involved themselves in an exploration of lyrical abstraction on a large scale. Other artists, such as Victoria’s own Pat Martin Bates, expressed a new emphasis on minimalism, while still others pursued new interests in hard-edge abstraction. Interest in minimalism and geometric pattern initiated in the 1960s, found a number of proponents including Sol Lewitt. Conceptual art, where the idea becomes the piece, is reflected in the work of Iain Baxter of N.E. Thing Co. fame.

The formal aspects of the work of art continued to intrigue sculptors such as Robert Murray, working in folded and cut steel painted in monochrome enamels. At the same time, certain new trends appeared on the Prairies with the folksy populism of Vic Cicansky’s ceramics.

Paul Drury: A Centennial Exhibition

This exhibition of works by Paul Drury celebrates the artist’s centenary. Born in 1903, Drury studied at Goldsmiths College, the University of London’s School of Art. He quickly mastered the technique and properties specific to printmaking and thus was able to produce prints reflecting great subtlety and skill very early in his career.

His total oeuvre includes fewer than 100 completed images, yet these landscapes and portraits are of considerable interest since they perpetuate the best of the tradition of printmaking in the United Kingdom. The exhibition features prints from all periods of the artist’s career as well as working drawings and selections from the artist’s sketchbooks. In 1994, Mr. David Lemon of Vancouver, made a significant gift of 450 individual prints, drawings, studies and notebooks to the Art Gallery?s collection. We are proud to present a selection of the highlights from this collection since these also constitute a tribute to a print master.

Laurel Woodcock: take me, I?m yours

Sight, sound, memory, taste and touch are used to probe themes of language, the occult, the relationship between technology and nature, and the ominous potential of the familiar in take me, I’m yours, recent works by Laurel Woodcock. The five components of this exhibition use technology to both entice and challenge the audience. The artist uses ambiguous juxtapositions to make the viewer attempt to decode cultural references. In one work, operetta, the viewer watches the spastic dance of a dying fly while listening to the love song from Stanley Kubrick’s classic film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The incursion of chaos in both nature and technology is demonstrated with Woodcock’s signature deadpan wit and affection.

Laurel Woodcock is a pioneer in the realm of new media. Her work integrates technical means with intellectual and emotional content. Woodcock is currently Assistant Professor of Studio Art at Guelph University where she is establishing courses in New Media, Video and Performance Art.

This exhibition leads our fall investigation of film in contemporary art practice.

Samurai: The Warrior Class of Japan

The samurai of old Japan were amongst the greatest, most courageous, but also most cultured warriors in the world. The samurai followed a strict code of behaviour known as Bushido or the way of the warrior. The samurai’s life was directed by righteousness: he must not disgrace his status and must live up to the…

The LAB 3.3: Wendy Welch Order of Blue: A Contingent Agreement

Referring to Lawren Harris’ monochrome arctic paintings, Welch addresses the idea of landscape painting through the creation of a relief painting/sculpture that combines traditional perspective with non-traditional materials….

The LAB 3.2: Tamsin (T.) Clarke Fringe Lake Campsite

Is Tom Thomson our Jim Morrison? Did Thomson?s mysterious death jettison him into his star status in Canadian Art? Star-making is a cultural phenomenon, one that we seem to be fascinated by, perhaps a product of Andy Warhol?s thoughts that everybody has a chance at fame. This exhibition originates in the examination of myths, truths…

The Group of Seven in Western Canada

The Group of Seven in Western Canada adds a new dimension to Canada’s famous art movement. This group of inspired landscape painters formally coalesced in 1920 to publicly challenge Canada’s image of itself, both through its landscape and its artistic traditions. The Group’s 1920 inaugural showing included work by founding members Frank Carmichael, Lawren S….

Yoko Takashima: face-scape

The Art Gallery has commissioned a work by Victoria artist Yoko Takashima. For this exhibition, she addresses the Group of Seven’s status as an icon of national identity. At the same time, she questions the undercurrent of Euro-centrism, colonialism and patriarchy that is embedded in the readings of their work. Takashima’s time-based, interactive project will incorporate ongoing responses of Gallery visitors and generate a cumulative image to reflect the “face” of these consumers of Canadian identity.

Japanese Print Masters: Hiroshi Yoshida and his Son Toshi

Hiroshi Yoshida (1876-1950) was a prominent figure in the modern Japanese print movement. Keenly aware of the influence of ukiyo-e prints on Post-Impressionism, Yoshida combined artistic theories native to the West with traditional techniques rooted in Japan. The result was an updated, Westernized version of the traditional ukiyo-e print. His output was tremendous and he…