THE TREE: FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE SOCIAL
Emily Carr
Lawren Harris
Arthur Lismer
Sybil Andrews
Jack Shadbolt
Ian Wallace
Rodney Graham
Liz Magor
Lorraine Gilbert
Pedro Reyes
Patricia Deadman
Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun
Central Gallery
June 7 to September 6, 2009
In early 20th century images of trees and forests by Group of Seven painters and Emily Carr, a claim on the rugged territory of the ‘new land’ is expressed by bold stylistic breaks from British painting traditions, breaks that articulated then current ideas about the new Canadian nation. Since then Canadian and international artists have considered and critiqued forces, such as nationalistic and corporate ideologies, that shape interpretations and representations of nature, including the notion of the landscape. The Tree exhibition presents artworks in which images of the tree, representing the natural world, the sublime and the spiritual, are meant to inspire awe and reverence for the power of nature. It also includes works that explore human impulses to tame or exploit the forest, or to use the forest as a stage setting or a place of refuge. The artworks in the exhibition employ a wide variety of approaches and media, including drawing, painting, sculpture, photography and video. The Tree probes the manner in which the forest and the tree are represented to us through art history and in popular and mass media. Emily Carr, Lawren Harris, Arthur Lismer, Sybil Andrews, Jack Shadbolt, Ian Wallace, Rodney Graham, Liz Magor, Lorraine Gilbert, Pedro Reyes, Patricia Deadman and Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun are some of the artists whose works have been selected for the exhibition from the Vancouver Art Gallery permanent collection by curators Daina Augaitis and Emmy Lee.
A full-colour brochure accompanies the exhibition.
Organized and circulated by the Vancouver Art Gallery
Generously sponsored by British Columbia Lottery Corporation, 98.3 CIFM
Liz Magor
Deep Woods Portfolio, 1999
silver gelatin print
Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift of the Artist
Photo: Trevor Mills, Vancouver Art Gallery
