Visual Arts Reviews

Presentation House's C.1983, Part 1 is a refreshing photo flashback

Presentation House's C.1983, Part 1 is a refreshing photo flashback

By Robin Laurence | February 8, 2012
Our city is so well known internationally as a centre for photo-based art that a collective term long ago emerged to describe its major proponents: the Vancouver School.
Artist Annika Rixen's Sciences of Observation explores colour and light

Artist Annika Rixen's Sciences of Observation explores colour and light

By Robin Laurence | January 18, 2012
Annika Rixen’s experiments with light and photography are curious and unresolved.
Christopher Brayshaw's Into Thin Air is a quiet revelation

Christopher Brayshaw's Into Thin Air is a quiet revelation

By Robin Laurence | December 19, 2011
It takes nerve to establish your reputation as an art critic and curator and then present yourself to the world as an artist.
Dubai mirrors Vancouver in Maraya

Dubai mirrors Vancouver in Maraya

By Robin Laurence | December 6, 2011
Vancouver-based architectural critic Trevor Boddy captures the master-planning connections between the north shore of False Creek and the Dubai Marina in photographs and videos.
Studies in Decay negotiates a new approach to realism

Studies in Decay negotiates a new approach to realism

By Robin Laurence | November 29, 2011
The works of contemporary artists Raymond Boisjoly, Jordy Hamilton, and Laura Piasta employ different forms, materials, and strategies, but come together in this exhibit at the Or Gallery.
SFU Gallery celebrates Jerry Pethick's ventures into photoarrays

SFU Gallery celebrates Jerry Pethick's ventures into photoarrays

By Robin Laurence | November 15, 2011
Thirty small, mixed-media, wall-mounted works produced by the beloved West Coast artist are on display at the SFU Gallery.
Danny Singer's Drive-by captures fleeting sensations of our vehicular existence

Danny Singer's Drive-by captures fleeting sensations of our vehicular existence

By Robin Laurence | November 1, 2011
Danny Singer has produced a 70-foot-long, three-foot-high, digitized panorama of photographs taken from a moving automobile for Drive-by.
Brendan Fernandes explores displacement and disempowerment in Disscontinent

Brendan Fernandes explores displacement and disempowerment in Disscontinent

By Robin Laurence | October 18, 2011
The Toronto- and New York-based artist examines the integral role language plays in the shaping of cultural identity.
Larry Clark's Tulsa and Kohei Yoshiyuki's The Park turns us into voyeurs

Larry Clark's Tulsa and Kohei Yoshiyuki's The Park turns us into voyeurs

By Robin Laurence | October 5, 2011
Rarely have two photography exhibits at the Presentation House Gallery been so uncompromising.
Landon Mackenzie's Crossing Over, Why Cloud the Whites is spectacular and intimate

Landon Mackenzie's Crossing Over, Why Cloud the Whites is spectacular and intimate

By Robin Laurence | September 20, 2011
The Vancouver artist's exhibition at the Richmond Art Gallery includes 13 paintings on linen together with a flurry of watercolour and ink studies on paper, all produced in the last five years.
Ron Terada pays homage to late artist Jack Goldstein

Ron Terada pays homage to late artist Jack Goldstein

By Robin Laurence | September 6, 2011
Twenty-four text paintings, a photograph, and a trompe l’oeil sculpture remember a doomed, pain-ridden soul.
Tayu Hayward finds adventure in We Donât Live Here Anymore

Tayu Hayward finds adventure in We Don’t Live Here Anymore

By Robin Laurence | August 30, 2011
This young photographer hikes or bikes into remote areas to capture scenic landscapes ranging from snowy mountain tops to rock formations in the high desert.
Two urban agriculture projects bring art to Vancouver's gardens

Two urban agriculture projects bring art to Vancouver's gardens

By Robin Laurence | August 22, 2011
Grow: An Art + Urban Agriculture Project and the Means of Production Artists’ Raw Resource Collective aim to fuse art and agriculture.
Monomania celebrates Vancouver art

Monomania celebrates Vancouver art

By Robin Laurence | August 9, 2011
Trench Contemporary Art gallerist Craig Sibley shows off 106 works by 38 artists, including Carrie Walker, Ken Lum, and Davida Kidd.
Inuit Prints: Japanese Inspiration is an attractive exhibition

Inuit Prints: Japanese Inspiration is an attractive exhibition

By Robin Laurence | August 2, 2011
This overview of the influence of Japanese woodcut traditions on the early evolution of Inuit stonecuts, stencils, and lithographs has the air of an art-history lecture.