Vancouver Draw Down: the Map Room.

Last Saturday was Vancouver Draw Down. The event took place in multiple locations all over town and it was great day. I hope you had a chance to get out and participate in some of the stations set up around the city. I managed to take in 6 of the 18 locations and one of my stops was naturally the Contemporary Art Gallery.

Nigel Prince, CAG Director, introduces the event & Landon Mackenzie.

Artist and Educator, Landon Mackenzie, transformed the gallery’s street front, foyer & hallways into a “Map Room.” Based on her work, Landon invited everyone to explore the “many potentials of drawing and mapping as an act and state of being.”

The place was packed when I arrived. Every table was covered with works in progress as visitors created collages from pieces of topographical print-outs.

When visitors were done they were invited to sketch the Monahan pieces in the BC Binning Gallery, examing form and mark making.

This was the 3rd year for Vancouver Draw Down and I can’t wait for the next. The event celebrated drawing and invited everyone to participate by simply making a mark. As the Vancouver Draw Down site says “If you can write your name, you can draw!”

I saw another great quote posted by Opus Art Supplies encouraging people to dispell their preconceptions: “If you hear a voice within you say – you cannot paint, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.”  – van Gogh‘

The same goes with drawing!

Kay Slater (@kdot) is a volunteer at the Contemporary Art Gallery. Come visit her on shift every Sunday from Noon-3PM.

Catherine Soussloff on Benjamin and Monahan

Thanks to all who attended Catherine Soussloff’s engaging discussion last Tuesday. She brought together the theoretical concepts of  Walter Benjamin’s writings and thoughts in relation to Matthew Monahan’s work. It was a successful start to the many conversations the CAG will be hosting with cultural and critical producers  in the coming weeks for our “Feedback Series.”

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Please join us again next Tuesday May 15 at 7pm, for Anthropologist, curator and UBC professor Nicky Levell’s discussion entitled, “Art Through Anthropology.” She will be responding to Monahan’s work through the interdisciplinary folds of anthropology, theoretical museology, material culture and critical curatorial studies. Looking forward to seeing you then!

Karina Irvine

New Talks at the CAG: Feedback Series – Tonight at 7pm: Catherine Soussloff

Tonight at 7pm art historian and writer Catherine Soussloff gives a talk that launches a new round of events at the CAG, titled the “Feedback Series.”

This new series invites cultural and critical producers to present thoughts and ideas rooted in their own interests and practices, and invites audiences to join in the conversations that will explore relevant contemporary issues, theories, ideas and culture.

Catherine Soussloff will respond to Matthew Monahan’s work presenting a talk entitled, “Death, Benjamin and Melancholy.”  She will address disciplines of historiography, theory and philosophy in a conversation with the audience.

Thank you to those who attended the CAG’s opening last Thursday, April 26th for Matthew Monahan’s first exhibition in Canada. The exhibition will be on view until July 1, 2012.

As of today, Tuesday, May 1st, the CAG has extended its hours and is now open from Tuesday – Sunday, 12pm until 6pm. There are now more opportunities to visit and explore Matthew Monahan’s work at the CAG.

Image: Matthew Monahan, installation view at the Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver. Courtesy Anton Kern Gallery and Stuart Shave/Modern Art. Photo: Karina Irvine.

Matthew Monahan opens tonight at the CAG

Matthew Monahan is interviewed for Life on Mars the Carnegie International in 2008. Matthew Monahan’s first Canadian solo exhibition opens at the Contemporary Art Gallery on Thursday April 26 and continues until July 1, 2012.

Upcoming exhibition: Matthew Monahan

The Contemporary Art Gallery is pleased to announce the upcoming exhibition of Los Angeles based artist Matthew Monahan. On view from April 27 until June 30 2012, this will be the first solo exhibition of Monahan’s work in Canada. With the human figure as his subject, Monahan manipulates and distorts this classic motif into fragmented forms that recall ancient artifacts. Using a combination of materials reflective of contemporary culture, his work challenges the relationship between drawing and sculpture, while also bringing into question conventions of museum display.

Check out this interview with Matthew Monahan and FlashArt magazine.

http://www.flashartonline.com/interno.php?pagina=articolo_det&id_art=71&det=ok&title=MATTHEW-MONAHAN

Karina Irvine – Curatorial Intern