Gallery Surf is the Straight's weekly feature showcasing must-see art gallery exhibits that are opening this weekend. Surf through the images and if you like what you see, check out the art IRL.

Michael Abelman: In Bloom

Local painter Michael Ableman's work has always been inspired by the nature and beauty of Vancouver and its surrounding areas, but this particular collection of impressionist-inspired work focuses on the landscape as it is in the midst of a bloom of colour. Vibrant tones, short strokes, and a blend of natural, industrial, and residential subject matter give voice to the beauty of our city in every season—even in the winter, where Abelman creates a picturesque waterfront scene of a Hyundai tanker laid against dark greens and blues. In Bloom will be on display at Omega Gallery from February 25 to March 18. 

Weronika Stepien and Stephen Wichuk: Sausage Factory

In Sausage Factory, interdisciplinary artists Weronika Stepien and Stephen Wichuk examine the operations of food production and how this activity has been represented in literature, industrial films, and popular cinema. Their video works deconstruct a series of related moving images and reassembles them in ways that showcase the image's various motivations and structural components to create new moving images. In one, Wichuk uses animation to capture the scientific management of food production. These images "collapse historical time with the time of production, and in so doing reveal uncanny movements of capital and desire". Check out Sausage Factory at grunt gallery from February 25 to April 2.

Presenting their 60th exhibition, gallerists Mini Choi and Michaelmichaelmichael have curated a body of work featuring a selection of their own pieces, as well as art from Anice Wong, Foster Eastman, Pong Lam, and Sean Wallish. Using various mediums including photography, media art, and painting, artists pit contrasting ideas up against each other, reflecting ideas of contradiction, possibilities, serenity and chaos. Described by its curators as both a multi-layered narrative and a statement of beliefs, artists are both humourous and serious in their interpretations of the complexity of "but" in various media. Catch But at Foster Eastmann Gallery from February 26 to March 5. An opening reception will take place on February 26 (Friday) between 6 and 8 p.m.

Al Freeman, Chris Hood, Monique Mouton, and Adrianne Rubenstein: A Short Story

Work from four artists will be on display in this exhibit, which seeks to draw parallels between the interpretation of visual art and the short story by looking at what the art-equivalent of a short story might look like. Various mediums are used in each artist's exploration, including painting, sculpture, and more. Don't miss work from Al Freeman, Chris Hood, Monique Mouton, and Adrianne Rubenstein. A Short Story will be on display at Field Contemporary from February 27 to March 26. An opening reception will be held on February 27 (Saturday) from 6 to 10 p.m.

Various artists: Abstract Exhibition

The latest body of work presented by the Federation of Canadian Artists focuses on abstract work in various mediums by active and signature members of the FCA. The exhibit, focusing on a variety of abstract practices that have been around since the 19th century, will include everything from cubism, fauvism, dadism, futurism to suprematism. Federation Gallery invites you to "forget your misconceptions of this visual style and embrace the abstract" at its Abstract Exhibition, on display from March 1 to 11.