Ai Weiwei: Dropping the Urnwww.museumofcontemporarycraft.orgMUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY CRAFT, PORTLAND OR – Jul 15-Oct 30, <strong>2010</strong> Dropping the Urn:ceramic works, 5000 BCE-<strong>2010</strong> CE is a survey of work by Beijing-based artist Ai Weiwei that includesa selection of his ceramic pieces and photographs from 1993 to the present. Ai Weiwei is one ofChina’s leading and most outspoken contemporary artists. His work reflects the dichotomy of traditionalChinese values with rampant consumerismand materialistic ideals. The exhibitionmarks the artist's first solo show on theWest Coast.Ai Weiwei utilizes historic Chinese vesselsin artworks that express the uneasiness of modernChina as she redefines her national identityin a time of state-capitalist culture. His interestin classic Chinese art began in 1993 upon hisreturn to Beijing after spending a decade inNew York City. Shocked to find historicallyimportant objects in the stalls of flea markets,he began acquiring them for his satirical andsocio-politically charged messages.In works that bridge craft tradition and conceptualpractice, the artist treats 7000-year-oldAi Weiwei, Coca Cola Vase (1997),vase from Neolithic Age (5000 to3000 BCE) and paint [Museum of Contemporary Craft, PortlandOR, Jul 15-Oct 30] Courtesy Tsai Collection, New YorkNeolithic vessels as well as traditional HanDynasty urns like “ready-mades” through suchacts as painting a Coca-Cola logo on the surfacesor dipping them in vats of brightlycolouredindustrial paint. In one photographic triptych, Ai documented himself casually droppingan ancient urn. For another work, he ground old world pottery into a powder and stored the remainsin a clear glass jar. His methods of smashing, painting and otherwise defacing the archaic pieces pointto the recent demolition of historic landmarks by the Chinese government for the purpose of urbanredevelopment. Allyn CantorComox Valley Art Gallery100-580 Duncan Ave✆250-338-6211www.comoxvalleyartgallery.common-sat 10am-5pm. PUBLIC GALLERYSep 18-Nov 6 Cam McDonald, drawing,mixed media and installation;ARTS & CRAFT GALLERY Sep 18-Oct 1CVAG’s 11th Bienennial Art Auction,preview exhibition; Oct 9-Nov 6 Talesof Mystery and Imagination – AlteredBooks from Altered Minds, groupshow.FORT LANGLEYThe Fort Gallery9048 Glover Rd ✆604-888-7411www.fortgallery.cawed-sun 12-5pm. Sep 1-19 LucyAdams and Maggie Woycenko,“Messages”, new works; Oct 13-31Doris Auxier and Suzanne Northcott.GABRIOLA ISLANDGabriola Arts Council9-575 North Rd ✆250-247-7409www.gabriolaartscouncil.orgsat-mon 10am-4pm, free admission.Oct 9-11 14th Annual Gabriola StudioTour, free, self-guided tour featuringmore than 50 artists in 41 studiosclearly demonstrates why GabriolaIsland deserves its unique reputationas the “Isle of the Arts”. Meet the artisansand see fine literary and visual art,oil, acrylic and watercolour paintings,giclées, mixed media, photography,one-of-a-kind fashions, leatherwork,semi-precious silver and beaded jewellery,pottery, stonework, wood carvings,sculpture, glasswork, and uniqueitems for home and garden. Full-colourbrochure with map is available on-lineor in print; Oct 9 4-6pm Village LiquorStore, wine tasting.GIBSONSGibsons Public Art Gallery201-287 Gower Point Rd✆604-886-0531www.gibsonspublicartgallery.cathurs-mon 11am-4pm. Sep 2-Oct 22The Roving Artists: As I Went Walking,11 artists meet weekly, paint indiverse media and styles, encourageand learn with one another and findinspiration in the joy of living here andnow; Oct 14-Nov 29 Wayne Harjula:<strong>2010</strong>, medusa chandeliers and variouswater creatures fashioned in glassinspired by the undersea world.The Landing GalleryArtists’ Co-op436 Marine Dr ✆604-886-0099jheyer@telus.netdaily 10am-5pm. Thru Sep 27 SomethingFishy; Sep 28-Dec 31 Seasons26 PREVIEW ■ SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER <strong>2010</strong> ★ OPEN LATE ON FIRST THURSDAYS
Meeting, eclectic selection of paintings,pottery, fibre, glass, jewellery,and more created by members of thisartists’ cooperative.GRAND FORKSGallery 2, Grand Forksand District Art andHeritage Centre524 Central Ave ✆250-442-2211www.grandforksartgallery.catues-fri 10am-4pm sat 10am-3pm.Sep 4-Oct 2 Rembrandt’s Attic,Group Exhibition and FundraisingEvent; Sep 4-Nov 27 Bob Masse,“Peace, Love and Rock ‘N’ Roll”,poster art; STUDIO WATCH BonniePopoff, “Recent Works”; Thru Oct 2Faye Gustafson, “Under WesternSkies”; Oct 5-Dec 24 Choegyal Rinpoche,“Sixty Tibetan Pearls”.KAMLOOPS★ Kamloops Art Gallery101-465 Victoria St ✆250-377-2400www.kag.bc.camon-wed, fri-sat 10am-5pm thurs10am-9pm sun 12-4pm closed statholidays. Thru Sep 5 Stan Douglas:Klatsassin, film is set in the 19th C. inthe forests of B.C.’s Cariboo Mountainsimmediately after historicalevents involving hostilities betweenthe area’s native inhabitants and settlerstriggered the Chilcotin Wars; Oct18-Dec 31 Construction Sites: Identityand Place, works by contemporaryartists who investigate and reflect onthe social construction of identity andthe production of social space inresponse to developments in feminist,gender, queer and postcolonial theories;Oct 21 FORUM FOR DISCUSSION:Sight, Reconstructed, on HenriLefebrve’s thinking about producingone’s life as one would a work – withthe dramatic mobility of information,www.preview-art.com PREVIEW 27