PAST EXHIBITS

Heartlab: Re-surface

Drawing on work originally created in direct response to the local geography/ecosystem of Calgary and area, Re-surface will be a 3-Dimensional participatory drawing/diorama that will playfully represent the essence of words as sound and image as space by drawing upon the beauty of the Kootenay valley.

Heart Lab is a collaborative effort fusing the talents and vision of two artists – Anita Levesque and Bradley Smith. Combining text and visual imagery, the couple explore the dynamics between two distinct forms of communication, sometimes bridging the gap of both worlds, and in other instances creating a tension between the two. Heart Lab places an emphasis on process and time-based projects. Utilizing various drawing materials, manual typewriter and block printing tools, the duo create multi-sensory, installation narratives reminiscent of illustrated story book

Masters of BC Art: Selected Works from the Collection of Hans Wilking

Hans Wilking, owner of the Ymir Hotel, has been a collector of art for many years, and has a personal connection not only to the work, but often to the artists themselves. This exhibition will feature highlights of his collection, including a number of works by such well known artists as E. J. Hughes, Simon Charlie and Norval Morrisseau. This promises to be a rare opportunity to not only see original works of this calibre, but to have a glimpse inside the world of the collector himself.

Nelson Through the Lens: The Historical Photography of J.H.Allen

With works from the Touchstones Nelson permanent collection, as well as on loan from local collectors, this exhibition will showcase the photographs of James (“Jimmy”) Allen (1878-1969), and celebrate the mark he has made on the landscape of our local history through his contributions as a photographer and community member.

From 1919 until his death in 1969, Allen operated Allen’s Art Shoppe in Nelson, a photo-finishing business which also served as a venue for marketing his own work. Between the 1920s and 50s, he created hundreds of black and white photos, and garnered acclaim for his hand-tinted prints, which can still be found in homes throughout the area.

A lens into the past, Jimmy Allen’s photographs provide a portrait of Nelson over more than three decades, documenting changes in the urban landscape, as well as celebrating the lakes, rivers, mountains and country roads which he explored year round.

Upstairs at Wah Lee’s: Portraits from the C.S. Wing Studio

Upstairs at Wah Lee’s creates a remarkable and intimate portrait of life in the small frontier town of Quesnel.

Chow Shong (C.S.) Wing was born in Quesnel and became a partner in the family store, the Wah Lee Company. As a young man in the early 1900’s, he established a studio above the store, becoming the first professional photographer in Quesnel. In addition to views of sternwheelers and freight wagons, he also took portraits of local residents for post cards. He drew sitters from the First Nations, Chinese and “White” communities, perhaps because of his own minority status, or because they were people he knew in his role as a local shop keeper. A traveling exhibit on loan from the Quesnel and District Museum and Archives, the photos are unique in representing the mixing of cultures in a small frontier town.

Alf Crossley: Spirit of the Land

Well known Kootenay artist Alf Crossley’s work is firmly rooted in our local landscape. With a visual style often leaning towards abstraction, his practice has long been based on working outdoors (or “en plein air”), drawing both imagery and inspiration directly from the natural environment. Crossley says, “I suppose the basic inspiration comes from my delight in seeing how the forces of nature… wind, water, and sunlight orchestrate this earth and how the resulting rhythm, repetition and growth force, etc. bring meaningful form into the visual tapestry surrounding us.” Although there will be some new works, the exhibition will primarily be a retrospective of Crossley’s long running career. In addition to numerous works on paper, paintings spanning the years in what has become Crossley’s trademark style will be on display, along with some of his earliest pieces that document the origins and evolution of the visual style he would later become known for.

Kootenay School of Art at Selkirk College Graduation Show

This exhibit features the work of graduating students from the Kootenay School of the Arts at Selkirk College. Student work from each of the four studios: Clay, Fibre, Jewellery & Small Object Design and Metal will be displayed. KSA’s programs place emphasis on the skills necessary to become a successful and professional arts practitioner. Hands-on studio work combined with the study of design, drawing, history, and professional practices leads to an in-depth understanding and refined ability to apply the essential elements for success in the industry.

Max Liboiron – Trashscapes and Rubbish Topographies

Trashscapes and Rubbish Topographies is an installation of landscapes made from road salt, used tea and tea bags, and styrofoam eroded by water-borne pollutants. Waste and pollution are a permanent global phenomenon; artist Max Liboiron uses them as raw materials to make fantastic mythological landscapes based on present environmental issues. Gallery visitors are invited to bring their own used dried tea bags to the gallery to create a mountain of sweet-smelling rubbish to rival the scale of the artwork.

The White Line

The White Line features relief and wood engraving prints from local artist and teacher Gene Leavitt’s impressive personal collection, as well as those he has created himself. It is an exciting opportunity to gain insight into this process, and see the amazing range of style and expression that is possible within its boundaries.

Shelter: How We Live

What do green building and sleeping in your car have in common? Houses made from shipping pallets? All are aspects of shelter, a basic requirement for living and one of the fundamental building blocks of any society. From mainstream to makeshift, green to affordable, this ground breaking exhibit will look at some of the many facets of shelter, through a dynamic and engaging mix of large scale installation, individual stories and interpretation. Highlights will include a small house frame constructed of shipping pallets, as well as a typical homeless “campsite” installation. Also included will be a number of display panels featuring BC green building projects, (on loan from the Surrey Art Gallery’s Building Green exhibit), as well as local green and affordable building projects.

Angelika Werth: Ladies in Tents

Local fibre artist Angelika Werth will exhibit a series of hand-sewn dresses which explore the idea of the dress as a shelter or dwelling. Her use of house wrap in the making of some of the dresses will be derivative of today’s building industry and her use of pioneer canvas tent material in others is evocative of the ethnic nature of temporary or season dwellings. Dress accessories and tent materials come about through Werth’s passion for rummaging in second hand stores, flea markets and auctions for the unexpected. A vital part of her creative process whether she is in Nelson or Paris. The dresses to be exhibited in Ladies in Tents are also inspired by the poetry of 16th century writer Christopher Marlowe. Lines of his poetry are embroidered into the dresses themselves.

“The tent dresses are big enough that you could sleep under them,” says Werth. “I quite often think of the kilt, which used to be a bedroll at night and then was worn as a garment in the day.” Her clothing designs reflect long hours of hand felting, embroidery and beading, and many have a historical genesis.