Preview – The Gallery Guide | June through August 2011

V I G N E T T E S • June/July/August 2011British ColumbiaROBIN LAURENCEATTILA RICHARD LUKACS: NEW WORK Winsor Gallery, Vancouver,through June 11 Lukacs gained international attention in the1980s and 90s with his colourful, large-scale “history paintings”,often featuring figures drawn from European skinhead culture.His new body of mostly monochromatic grey abstractions,therefore, may surprise many viewers. Based on the grisaille tradition,these works make ghostly reference to a number of disciplinesand practices, and address “the tradition of painting afterthe end of painting”.SHARY BOYLE Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, June 17-August 21 Toronto artist Shary Boyle takes on the human figurein every scale and medium, from audio-visual performance toporcelain miniatures, and from oil paintings to mixed-mediainstallation. In this touring exhibition, she combines vulnerability,pathos, humour, fantasy, and raunchy sexuality in an utterlyindividual way. At the same time, she challenges our ideas oftruth and beauty.Attila Richard LukacsShary BoyleBRENDA JOY LEM: HOMAGE TO THE HEART Richmond Art Gallery,Richmond, through June 12 This installation of richly layeredimages and text muses on themes of “memory, spirituality, andthe enduring heart”. Employing archival photos, family snapshots,and transcribed oral histories, Brenda Joy Lem chroniclesher grandparents’ arrival in Canada over 100 years ago. She followsthe family through years of grinding work, but also revealshappier aspects of social and recreational life to create a complextapestry of time, change and belonging.MARTIN CREED: COLLECTED WORKS The Rennie Collection,Vancouver, through October 22 From galleries filled with partyballoons to prints made from pieces of broccoli, no medium ormaterial is too unexpected for Turner Prize-winning Britishartist and musician Martin Creed. The show features art drawnexclusively from the Rennie Collection, and programmingincludes individual and collective performance pieces, such asWork No 850 in which physically fit volunteers sprint throughthe gallery at fixed intervals.THE OTHER EMILY: REDEFINING EMILY CARR Royal BC Museum,Victoria, through October 10 Through new research and theuncovering of seldom-seen images and objects, this exhibitionfocuses on the early life of the iconic Emily Carr. It also countersour preconceptions about one of Canada’s most famous artists.Curated from the RBCM collection, the show presents us withan array of art, artifacts and archival material, including Carr’searly paintings, drawings and sketches; diaries, manuscripts andletters; period clothing; and First Nations art. Especially fascinatingare historic photographs of Carr as a young woman, wellbefore her 1927 breakthrough onto the national stage – and intoour mythic imagination.Brenda Joy LemMartin CreedEmily Carr, at left, second row from back, c. 189522 PREVIEW ■ JUNE/JULY/AUGUST 2011