VANCOUVER, BC.- The Vancouver Art Gallery will present the best of British Columbia to the world and the best of the world in British Columbia during the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. From a landmark exhibition of drawings by Leonardo da Vinci to a comprehensive survey of British Columbia ’s visual art and two major outdoor installations, visitors will experience some of the most exciting programming in the Gallery’s history.
“The 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will be our opportunity to showcase one of British Columbia ’s greatest legacies---its art,” said the Honourable Gordon Campbell, Premier of British Columbia. “I congratulate the Vancouver Art Gallery for assembling a roster of exhibitions truly worthy of welcoming the world. We are very pleased to be locating our BC Pavilion in the Gallery where we expect thousands of international visitors will experience our province during the Games."
Visitors to the Gallery during the Winter Games will experience the breadth of British Columbia ’s visual art in the exhibition "Visions of British Columbia: A Landscape Manual." This massive two-floor presentation brings together major figures of British Columbia art whose works depict the natural landscape and the urban character of the province. From a nineteenth century First Nations sculpture by Charles Edenshaw and masterpieces by painter Emily Carr to the most recent developments in contemporary practice by Stan Douglas, Liz Magor, Jeff Wall, Jin-me Yoon and many others, Visions of British Columbia will be the best place to explore the great range of visual art produced in the province.
“The Vancouver Art Gallery is proud to present the best of British Columbia ’s visual culture during the 2010 Winter Games,” said Kathleen Bartels, director of the Vancouver Art Gallery. “With the support of our partners at the Province of B.C. , City of Vancouver , Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad and the Royal Collection in London , England , the Gallery has assembled a dynamic program that showcases the art of this unique part of the world, while presenting the finest historical and contemporary art the world has to offer.”
In celebration of athletic excellence during the Winter Games, the Gallery will present some of the most important anatomical drawings ever created in the exhibition "Leonardo da Vinci: The Mechanics of Man." Generously loaned from the Royal Collection by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for presentation during the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, "The Mechanics of Man" will mark the first time this celebrated group of drawings has ever been shown in its entirety. As an exciting complement to this historic exhibition, the Gallery will present Visceral Bodies, an arresting exhibition of contemporary art based on the human form.
To activate the outside of the building during the Games, the Gallery will present two large-scale public art projects. The Georgia Street façade will be completely transformed by "Michael Lin: A Modest Veil," a massive hand-painted mural created by internationally-renowned Taipei-based artist Michael Lin. On the opposite exterior of the building, the Gallery will present CUE: Artists’ Videos, screening almost 100 film and video works on the Robson Street façade.
Exhibition Dates and Descriptions:
Leonardo da Vinci: The Mechanics of Man
February 6 to May 2, 2010
"Leonardo da Vinci: The Mechanics of Man" will be the most substantial body of drawings by Leonardo da Vinci ever shown in Canada . This landmark exhibition, loaned by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II from the Royal Collection, will feature the entire suite of Leonardo da Vinci’s renowned Manuscript A—a series of anatomical drawings of the human body created by the artist as a record of his campaign of human dissection during the winter of 1510-1511. Comprised of a series of 18 sheets, most of which have drawings on both sides, this celebrated group of delicately rendered compositions represents stunning achievements in both art and science. Executed in exquisite detail and with remarkable technical precision, the drawings illustrate Leonardo’s unsurpassed skills of observation and investigation. Crammed with more than 240 individual drawings and more than 13,000 words written in Leonardo’s unique mirror-image script, Manuscript A is a treatise on the human body created centuries ahead of its time.
Visions of British Columbia : A Landscape Manual
January 23 to April 18, 2010
With Olympic visitors in mind, "Visions of British Columbia" introduces an international audience to the rich artistic traditions of the province. A far-reaching survey representing a wide array of perspectives, the exhibition will include landscapes, cityscapes and portraits illustrating the province’s diverse artistic visions. Highlighting art that has shaped public perception of the region, "Visions of British Columbia" will present important works by the province’s most revered artists along with works by artists whose practices represent diverse media, subjects, concepts, purposes and cultural origins. Artists include BC Binning, Emily Carr, Robert Davidson, Stan Douglas, Charles Edenshaw, Gathie Falk, Rodney Graham, Brian Jungen, Liz Magor, Susan Point , Bill Reid, Jack Shadbolt, Gordon Smith, John Vanderpant, Frederick Varley, Jeff Wall, Ian Wallace, Paul Wong, Jin-me Yoon and many more.
Visceral Bodies
February 6 to May 16, 2010
"Visceral Bodies" presents the work of 18 contemporary artists who investigate the human form. Together with "Leonardo da Vinci: The Mechanics of Man," this exhibition will highlight significant work from the last few decades by artists who incorporate historical and contemporary scientific thought to explore how perception of the human body has shifted from an anatomical fact to an evolving subjective form. The exhibition includes work by Helen Chadwick, Shelagh Keeley, Gabriel de la Mora, Wim Delvoye, VALIE EXPORT, Antony Gormley, Mona Hatoum and David Altmejd.
Michael Lin: A Modest Veil
January 15, 2010 to May 2, 2010
Well-known internationally for his re-conceptualization of public spaces, Taipei-based artist Michael Lin has been commissioned to create a massive hand-painted mural to cover the Vancouver Art Gallery ’s northern façade. The patterns and exuberant colors used in Lin’s installations are adapted from traditional Taiwanese fabric designs and decorative art, which he enlarges and transposes to cover architectural forms. The placement of Lin’s work on the Gallery’s exterior—the first presentation of his work in Canada —invites visitors to reconsider the building’s history and its neo-classical architecture, while celebrating the city’s diverse cultural traditions.
CUE: Artists’ Videos
January 23 to March 21, 2010
Spanning the entire 2010 Cultural Olympiad festival, the Gallery will present a continuous program of video and film-based works by local, national and international artists. Screened on a large-scale LED screen that will transform the Robson Street façade into an outdoor exhibition space, CUE will feature the most innovative and compelling visual artists working with moving images today. This dynamic program will highlight video art as a versatile medium that has moved from the margins to the centre of contemporary artistic practice.
