It was a beautiful BC Day holiday weekend and the final day of the 8th Annual Sculptors' Society of British Columbia Exhibition at VanDusen Garden. Unlike some of the other shows held at VanDusen, the car shows come to mind, this display works in wonderful ways. It's a great setting for works from BC artists, and great for viewers too.
Keister 2 by Robert Rangno is one of the first things to be seen on entering the area reserved for the exhibition.
Ron Simmer provided colourful expression with Hot Metal Flower Bouquet.
Dandelion caught my eye. It's a smaller piece by Anyuta Gusakova.
On the right, The Never-ending Song, in cold cast bronze, by Linda Schmidt.
Louise Solecki Weir's two pieces appealed to me: Boy With a Hat and Young Aristotle.
A two-sided piece, almost my height, in ceramic and mixed-media called African Queen was one of several by the artist Suzy Birstein.
And through the mix of artworks and people it was a pleasure to meet an old friend from almost thirty years ago. Jean-Guy Dallaire is a photographer, sculptor, philosopher and more. He developed what became known as Wreck Beach Originals in the 1980s and 90s. These were works based on stones, pebbles and concretions Jean-Guy found on the beaches of Vancouver. At this exhibition he was offereing demonstrations, en français et anglais, with the theme: "It's amazing what one can see... in a stone... l'imaginaire est mon meilleur ami!"
I've always felt Jean-Guy's works to be elegantly simple yet profound and natural. It was great to spend a brief time with Jean-Guy and to be energised by his boundless passion for life and art.
Photos by Jeem. Copyright 2015 by Jim Murray.
Good morning Jim,
ReplyDeleteIt was a happy moment when you showed up in front of my work table on our last exhibition day at VanDusen Garden. I recognized you immediately... 4th Ave. book store... a few steps to go up... a warm welcome.... It is amazing how some moments are remembered! Some 30 years ago! Thank you introducing me to 'The Murray Chronicles' Thank you for visiting our exhibition and specially for coming to say hello. I have to confess that when I got to the bottom of the page... a tear also came down...
May the Joy of Life be with you always - regards to your sister Jeem and God bless the Murray Chroniques.
Jean-Guy Dallaire