Talking Art
Nov 05, 2019 - Nov 09, 2019
Curated series of 14 artist talks hosted by Crawl artists in their studios.
Talking Art is a curated series of free artist talks and conversations that will be held in advance of this year’s Culture Crawl from November 4-9.
Hosted by Crawl artists in their studios, these intimate & entertaining talks will further provide an opportunity for artists to expose their work and ideas to the public in a studio setting and for the public to get a more intimate opportunity to see work in a variety of media by artists in their communities.
First come, first served. Many studios have limited space so arrive early to secure a seat.
MON, NOVEMBER 4th– 7pm
Jeanette Lee & Esther Rausenberg
884 East Georgia Street
Artists will discuss the development of “HERE – Placement/Displacement”, a public artwork collaboration by Jeanette Lee & Esther Rausenberg.
“They (City developers) might have, through urban renewal, destroyed the homes that once were there, but they did not destroy the community spirit that continues on today”.
HERE will trace some of these lives, including those that are gone. This public artwork piece will present a mosaic of imagery of working class people, opposite in spirit to those past monuments that exalt a single individual from history. It will shine a light on the enduring qualities of these groups, reinforcing the truth of the above statement.
Esther Rausenberg is a photo-based artist who has exhibited locally, nationally and internationally in Mexico, Cuba, Argentina, and Croatia and is a recipient of Canada Council and BC Arts Council grants. Esther is Co-artistic Director of Creative Cultural Collaborations Society. Esther was on the City of Vancouvers’ Arts & Culture Policy Council and is a Trustee on the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Board of Governors at Emily Carr University. Jeanette G. Lee is a Vancouver-born artist who studied visual arts at UBC. She completed a post-graduate diploma in studio arts at the Arts Students League of New York where she won several major art awards. Jeanette has held artist residencies at the New York Sculpture Centre and at the Studio School of the Aegean in Greece. Jeanette has had solo exhibitions in New York, Switzerland and Vancouver, and her works are part of the permanent collections of the Fukuyama Museum of Art in Japan, the ASL of New York, the Sol LeWitt Collection in Connecticut and the City of Richmond.
Eric Neighbour
Arts Factory
281 Industrial Ave
Ring the Studio “A” doorbell at the corner entrance of 281 Industrial Ave
THE SPARK: Exploring mechanisms of inspiration and what it takes to keep the spark alive – long term. Bringing adventure, joy and love of life to the art process.
Eric Neighbour has been carving, casting bronze, firing ceramic, painting in acrylic & oil, exhibiting photography and installing public art since 1985.
Candice Weber
Gore Studio
617 Gore Ave
Candice covers her journey into fibre art, her influences, her process, set -backs, finding space in Vancouver, and some discuss of techniques she utilizes. She will also go into detail about why she believes experimental work is integral to the creative process.
Candice Weber is the artist behind Loudly Insecure- a fibre art studio operating out of Chinatown. She is a multidisciplinary fibre artist and filmmaker. She does a range of things and love to mix medium and techniques. She is a hybrid artist utilizing mediums of film, animation, weaving, beading, and embroidery. Her practice is experimentally based and process driven. She creates highly detailed images piecing to together patterns and textures.
TUE, NOVEMBER 5th– 7pm
Hollis Nelson
Sunrise Studios
1182 East Hastings Street
Hollis will take her audience back in time starting from when she graduated art school. She will walk them through her progression from a shy, withdrawn solo artist to a connected, engaged community artist. She believes creative expression has the capacity to inspire deep healing and she is passionate about sharing her art practice with anyone willing to join in. The talk will conclude with a brief description of a grant application she is currently putting together with The Hawks Project for the Artist in Communities Residency program at RayCam Community Centre.
Hollis Nelson (b. 1986, Burnaby; lives/works: Vancouver) draws her inspiration from found objects, both natural and man-made. Gathering materials all over the Pacific northwest, Hollis works with wood, metal, plant matter and second-hand fabrics. She offers second life for discarded objects destined for the landfill. Hollis holds a BFA from Emily Carr University of Art and Design.
Portside Studios
150 McLean Drive
Jeff will discuss a recent painting collection, inspired by a 2017 art residence at the Wallace Stegner House. The Stegner House is situated on the Frenchman River in Eastend, a village nestled in the Saskatchewan Badlands. The area has hosted many of the great events that formed the Canadian West, but is relatively isolated, and preserves a sense of history seldom seen elsewhere in the Prairies.
Jeff is a Scottish-Canadian artist, living and working in Vancouver. Trained as a geologist, he transitioned from the resource industry to a full-time art practice in 2013. Jeff exhibits extensively in public galleries in BC, Alberta and WA State. Awards include Finalist in the inaugural Saltspring National Art Prize and two DTES Grants from the Vancouver Foundation. Jeff has completed residencies at the Booth in Shetland, Glacier National Park and the Wallace Stegner House. Jeff is represented by the Kimoto Gallery (Vancouver), Hambleton Gallery (Kelowna) and VanDop Gallery (New Westminster).
THU, NOVEMBER 7th– 7pm
1000 Parker Street – Studio #135
Call 604-338-5743 upon arrival for entry
Chrissy will highlight artistic interpretations of mental illness and stigma within paintings. She will talk about the artist group she curates, PAINTER8 who have made artwork interpreting anxiety and depression; how these subjects presented in public art exhibitions (“Whisper by PAINTER8” in Miami, “Invisible by PAINTER8” in Edmonton); and using art for public mental health awareness.
Chrissy Cheung is an artist and curator based in Vancouver who studied at Concordia University, Montréal, completing her BFA in 2000. Her work has been reviewed in Akimbo and Now Magazine, and was featured on CityTV, Calgary. She contributed to the Salon des Arts at the 2008 Osheaga Festival. Her solo exhibitions include Structured Abstractions, at the 2 of 2 Gallery, Toronto and Dessins contemporains, at Maison de la Culture Plateau Mont-Royal, Montréal. Cheung recently completed a mural in Vancouver’s Chinatown. Recent exhibitions include at the Market Art and Design Fair in Bridgehampton, New York, and the Reveal Art Fair in Saratoga Springs, NY, through ModArt Gallery, Miama. Her work is part of the Ville de Montreal Collection, and in private collections across Canada, the US, Denmark, and China. She curates the PAINTER8 Arts Society under the alias, Contact c.
Lori Sokoluk – 7pm
Paneficio Studios
800 Keefer Street
Yellow studio door is around the corner on Hawks, across from the park.
Working In Series. Why do many artists work on an idea over a series of paintings? What happens as you work on a series? How and when does a series shift? What marks a series’ completion? Lori will share her inspiration and experience with these ideas and then open the floor to discussion. Lori has worked in series that evolve and sustain her over several years, as well as many short, specific project series.
Lori’s deep attachment to cities and landscapes is readily evident in her work. Her paintings layer evocative perspectives of beauty and mystery over a structural and conceptual foundation provided by her background in architecture and urban design. Texture, collage, and layers of drawing and paint are built up, evoking dreamlike imagery in her highly abstracted paintings. Photo transfers and assemblage elements ground them in the tangible. These are cities that we know, inhabit and imagine. Lori studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She is also a sought-after art instructor.
Ray Ophoff – 8pm after Lori Sokoluk’s talk
Paneficio Studios
800 Keefer Street
Yellow studio door is around the corner on Hawks, across from the park.
Building a Traditional Oil Painting in the Modern Age. Ray will speak on the process of “building“ an oil painting using time-honoured materials and techniques supplemented with the latest archival methods. He will briefly touch on matters of inspiration and the distillation of ideas, then move into more in-depth discussion of substrate preparation, drawing transfer, grisaille underpainting, mediums, glazing, “fat over lean” and finally varnishing. A how-to on capturing a moment in time that should last generations.
Ray Ophoff is a Vancouver painter known for his intimate landscapes and large scale botanicals. Ray has painting since the nineties and has been a member of the Eastside Culture Crawl for six years. His work is in private collections across Canada and worldwide. Ray paints in traditional oils on carefully prepared wooden panels. He works from photos, sketches and gridded drawings over a sepia underpainting. Oddly, he will often paint smaller studies after completing a larger work. Ray is self -taught but has learned to forgive his teacher.
FRI, NOVEMBER 8th– 7pm
Kate MacDonald & Les Sears (K8L35)
Hamilton Bank Building – Studio #315
1895 Powell Street
This artist talk will focus on a multimedia installation – The Cave – planned for Kate & Les’ studio during Eastside Culture Crawl. Based on Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, we will be discussing this work in relation to symbolic behaviour, especially in terms of cave art, logo, media and graffiti. Consisting of multichannel video as well as 2 and 3-dimensional works, the setting will also provide an opportunity to discuss installation art and artistic collaboration.
Kate MacDonald and Les Sears are multidisciplinary artists who share a studio and collaborate as K8L35. Les received his professional training at NSCAD and the NBCCD, while Kate has exhibited internationally and had work featured in Wired and GQ magazines. As creators, K8L35 are fascinated by immoderation, consumer symbols and religion, and are perhaps known best for their humorous constructions of resin soda crackers and tape tartans. Les and Kate’s collaboration and studio partnership as K8L35 began in 2013. They are represented in Vancouver by the Robert Lynds Gallery.
Pilar Mehlis
1000 Parker Street – Studio # 280
Please note: elevator not available
Pilar has an upcoming solo exhibition in La Paz, Bolivia in 2020. The body of work will consist of sculpture, paintings and drawings. She will discuss the challenges of finding materials that work for her ideas but also for packing and the long journey. About the ideas behind the body of work which are based in migration, immigration and identity. How these ideas will be at play during the long journey from Canada to Bolivia making the journey (she will be audio recording parts of the journey) is part of the exhibition.
Pilar Mehlis grew up in La Paz, Bolivia and moved to Whitehorse, Yukon at twelve years old. From there life was a series of coming and goings between the two countries. She studied Fine Arts at the Universidad Mayor de San Andres, University of Victoria (BFA), Vancouver Academy of Art and the Gage Academy of Art. She has lived in Vancouver since 2001, she work in her studio full time and works in drawing, painting and sculpture.
Critics argue about how many basic plots there are in books and movies: three, seven, twenty, etc. Some examples of ‘narrative shapes’ are the quest, rags to riches, tragedy, revenge, fighting inner demons, man against nature, etc. John is currently creating a series of 4 ft x 4 ft works, mostly in acrylic and collage, illustrating a series of these types of plots. This structure allows him to explore a wide variety of thought-provoking topics—from self-reflection and comedy to artificial intelligence and politics.
John Steil creates visual art in his Vancouver live/work studio in Railtown. His practice includes large scale landscape drawings, acrylic paintings, collages, painted globes, and linocuts. He co-authored “Public Art in Vancouver: Angels Among Lions.” John creates chap books about his art and poetry and what he comes across in the world around him. Currently, he’s focused on two projects: a series of abstract ink drawings with an urban theme and larger acrylic and collage works. He has shown in numerous Vancouver galleries.
SAT, NOVEMBER 9th– 2pm
Judson Beaumont
1000 Parker Street – Studio #260
Judson Beaumont has been a part of Parker Studios for over 30 years; he joined the building as a young kid coming out of art school in 1985 and is still producing work as an active member of Parker to this day. His talk will share the Parker building history from his experience and how much it has grown and changed since the very beginning when it went from an empty warehouse to a thriving community of over 200 artist studios supporting many East Vancouver artists.
Judson Beaumont, owner of Straight Line Design Inc., is based in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Judson’s furniture pieces and installations are recognized for their unique one-of-a-kind creativity and sculptural style. He has gained worldwide recognition and donates many pieces to raise money at charity events.
The ARC – Studio #707
1707 Powell Street
Buzz 0906 on the intercom to the left of the building entrance when you arrive. Walk to the end of the hall, where there will be an elevator to the left. Take it to the 7th floor.
Take a glimpse into the ever-expanding creative world of Vancouver artist Mat Holmstrom. Holmstrom has spent the last decade creating a diverse and harmonious body of work that embraces the spirit of Canadian, French and International art canons. View select works on paper, panel, canvas, ceramics and sculpture and talk inspiration, influence and background. The artist will be sharing his relief masking techniques, artistic practices and new work as well as provide insight into his recent solo exhibition “Pacific Splendor”.
Mat Holmstrom grew up in the small French community of Beaumont, Alberta and now lives and creates in Vancouver. Holmstrom’s early interest in art and culture bloomed while having the opportunity to travel to major art destinations such as New York, London, Paris and San Francisco. Between 2007-2012 Holmstrom studied at the Alberta College of Art and Design and MacEwan University, where he trained in both traditional and contemporary art and design practices. In 2012 he relocated to Vancouver, where he committed further to defining his own artistic techniques, philosophies and practices.
1000 Parker Street – Studio #360
Visitors will be met by a greeter at the main entrance to 1000 Parker, which is at the Northwest corner of the loading area at the junction of George and Napier streets. Once inside they should proceed to Unit #360 for the event. Floor plan signage is posted throughout the building to aide in navigation.
In the sculptor’s studio there is no end of menial work. Here, the body to the mind is as the horse to the cart. Sculptors are compelled and inspired by all the most elemental things: what is gifted in the woodgrain, work-hardened in the steel – the mnemonic fidelity of plaster, the material infinitude in the clay… In this talk you’ll hear about the integrity and serendipity of matter, and how these operate as guiding forces within David’s practice – including the development of Windward Calm at Vancouver General Hospital.
Born in Toronto, David Robinson entered the Fine Arts stream in high school specializing in sculpture. He continued his studies at Langara College and became an Honours Graduate at the Ontario College of Art and Design. He has been sculpting full-time since 1990. While his oeuvre is the figure, he often adds psychological and mythological twists to his subjects by situating them in environments that speak to the inherent tensions of human life. Robinson has a deep reverence for imagery and symbolism, and this, combined with his remarkable skill, allows the viewer to discover the allegorical through contemporary form.
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