VANCOUVER.- On February 20, the Vancouver Art Gallery opens Sun Xun: Mythological Time and Stories that animate us, two dynamic and compelling exhibitions that draw from a diverse range of oral histories, narratives, knowledge systems and cosmologies.

In his first solo exhibition in Canada, Sun Xun employs printmaking and animation to produce ambitious works that contend with notions of time and history, fantasy and reality, and ideology and myth. In his highly imaginative video installation Mythological Time (2016), Sun takes viewers on a journey through his hometown of Fuxin in northern China, a coalmining centre facing the depletion of its economic lifeblood. Premiering at the Vancouver Art Gallery is Sun’s most recent work, Mythology or Rebellious Bone (2020), an epic 31-metre scroll comprised of Buddhist deities and fictional gods, and where humans disappear without a trace. References to Chinese legends intermix with the artist’s own imaginings to create lively narratives of a land after time.

Drawn primarily from the Vancouver Art Gallery’s collection with select loans, Stories that animate us, foregrounds diverse voices, to showcase stories that span from the small to the sweeping. Joyce Wieland and the Royal Art Lodge embrace the exploratory medium of drawing to stimulate the creative process. David Hockney gleans from the world of fairy tales and fiction as fodder for his drawings. Robert Davidson and Amanda Strong bring Indigenous stories to life as potent acts of cultural reclamation and resilience within the colonialist context of Canada. Cindy Mochizuki digs into family legends as a way of finding solace and keeping connections to culture alive. Francisco de Goya and Osvaldo Ramirez Castillo work through the ongoing traumas of war. Marina Roy, Jérôme Havre, Cauleen Smith and Camille Turner use the speculative nature of the science fiction genre to imagine new identities and ways of being. Ed Pien and Howie Tsui find inspiration in the spectral and the supernatural as radical sites of transformative potential.




The narratives conjured in Mythological Time and Stories that animate us resonate well beyond the artists and artworks, inviting the public to reflect on the importance of storytelling in their lives: What stories inspire you?

“The traditions of visual art constitute systems of communication and thinking that exceed any single language or linguistic family. Visual arts draw upon the poetics of fine art, the social relevance of the humanities, and the experimentation of science. These exhibitions are a compelling look at how artists recruit various strategies of communication to make meaning and to tell stories,” says Vancouver Art Gallery CEO and Director Anthony Kiendl. “These artworks are boundless in their capacity to transport us through time and space, and offer nearly endless worlds to explore.”

Throughout the duration of this exhibition, additional content featuring interviews with the artists and behind the scenes studio tours will be available on the Gallery’s social media channels and on its mobile guide, in addition to online public programs.

Sun Xun: Mythological Time is organized by the Vancouver Art Gallery and is an initiative of the Institute of Asian Art, curated by Diana Freundl, Interim Chief Curator.

Born in Fuxin, Lianoning province, China, Sun Xun studied art at the China Academy of Fine Arts in Hangzhou, where he majored in printmaking but became interested in video and animation. He has been exhibiting his work internationally since the early 2000s and his work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, 2008; Drawing Center, New York (2009); University of Essex Gallery, Colchester, UK (2009); Shanghai Minsheng Art Museum, 2010; Hayward Gallery, London, 2014; Saint Louis Art Museum, 2018; and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney, 2018. Sun has also participated in group exhibitions and screenings at the Modern Art Museum of Hangzhou Normal University, 2005; Anthology Film Archives, New York, 2006; Shanghai Art Museum, 2007; MoCA, Shanghai, 2007; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, 2008; Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei, 2009; Kunsthalle Bern, 2009; Museum of Contemporary Art Chengdu, 2009; Center for Contemporary Art Shangdong, Nanjing, 2010; Yokohama International Triennale of Contemporary Art, 2011; Arko Art Centre, Seoul, 2012; Bluecoat, Liverpool, 2012; Taipei Fine Arts Museum, 2012; Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, 2012; Para Site, Hong Kong, 2012; Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 2012; Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Fort Kochi, India, 2012; Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, 2013; Art Museum of Nanjing University of the Arts. 2013; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2013; Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai, 2014; Power Station of Art, Shanghai, 2014; Tampa Museum of Art, 2014; Moscow Museum of Modern Art, 2014; Vancouver Art Gallery, 2014; Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg, 2015; Daegu Art Museum, 2015; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 2016; Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, 2017; Macau Museum of Art, 2017; Hong Kong Visual Arts Center, 2018; Asia Society, New York, 2018; and Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Chongqing, 2019, among others. Sun’s work is held in many public collections including the holdings of the Astrup Fearnley Museum, Oslo; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Birmingham Art Museum; Brooklyn Museum of Art; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Kadist Art Foundation, San Francisco; Asia Society, New York; M+ Museum, Hong Kong; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney. Sun is currently represented by ShanghART, Beijing, Shanghai and Singapore, and Sean Kelly.