Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale

Last updated

Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale (French:Biennale Internationale de la Sculpture de Vancouver) is an open-air museum for Contemporary Art in Canada. It is a non-profit charitable organization that mounts a major outdoor sculpture exhibition, biennially. Each exhibition is accessible for a two-year period, featuring international artists, New Media and Performance Art, in the cities of Vancouver, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Squamish and Richmond public spaces. [1] The sculpture is in situ and is open to the public 24/7, 365 days a year.

Contents

History

Vancouver Biennale was founded by Barrie Mowatt in 2002. It is now[ needs update ] in its third biennial featuring 38 installations from China, Spain, Italy, Poland, Lithuania, Korea, India, UK, USA, France, Mexico, Denmark, and Iran. [2] The first bienniale that ran from 2005-2007 was called by the namesake of the charity, Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale. It featured 24 public works of art from 11 countries. The second exhibition with the theme "In-Transit-ion" concluded in 2011 while the next biennale started in 2014. [3] [4]

Format

Vancouver Biennale has a distinguishing component. It is committed to community outreach through its education program and has been responsible for the implementation of various community-based interactive programs. These include intra-school photo competitions, interactive self-guided tours and a K-Crew detective that enables students to learn more about the sculpture and their locations. [5]

The Vancouver Biennale Legacy Foundation is another component, committed to leaving a legacy of public art in the city by acquiring major pieces of sculpture from each exhibition and offering them to Vancouver and the surrounding area for long-term display. The legacy programme ensures that the city benefits from a legacy of internationally acclaimed works of art for generations to come.

Sculptures proposed to this purpose from the 2009-2011 exhibit were selected based on a ‘Curator’s Choice’ and a ‘People’s Choice’. These choices were submitted to the appropriate municipal department for standard review and consultation.

Activity

2014-2016 Biennale

The 3rd Vancouver Biennale exhibition began in Spring 2014 with a curatorial theme of "Open Borders/Crossroads Vancouver." The 2014 – 2016 participants include globally recognized figures [6] ranging from Ai Weiwei, Vik Muniz, Andy Goldsworthy to Os Gêmeos.

2009-2011 Biennale

The 2009–2011 Vancouver Biennale featured major works from 5 continents with the focus on Asia. [7] By the end of the 2009-2011 biennial, ten lectures by 6 artists will have taken place including one by Landscape Architect, Charles Jencks. [8]

This Biennale had the theme of "In-transit-ion" and expanded beyond monumental sculpture installations in parks, bike lanes and urban plazas, to include New Media and Performance Installations on the new Canada Line rapid transit system. Works include Dennis Oppenheim’s "Engagement" (USA), Jaume Plensa's "We" (Spain), Magdalena Abakanowicz’s "Walking Figures" (Poland) from the City of San Diego, Michel Goulet’s "Echoes" (Canada), Sorel Etrog’s "King and Queen" (Canada), John Clement’s "Jasper" (USA) and Bernar Venet’s "217.5 Arcs x 13" (France). [9]

Collaborative projects

From 26 April – 13 June 2010, the Richmond Art Gallery and Vancouver Biennale presented In Transition: New Art from India. This indoor exhibition featured installation-based work by contemporary artists such as Shilpa Gupta, Reena Kallat, TV Santosh, Sudarshan, Shetty, Thukral & Tagra and Hema Upadhyay. [10] The exhibition will move to the Surrey Art Gallery in February 2011.

In October 2009, the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale (in collaboration with the Vancouver Cycling Coalition) launched BIKEnnale, a bike riding tour of the sculptures. This event now takes place annually.

Legacies

The following sculptures have been installed for permanent viewing:

Jasper by Brooklyn-based artist John Clement. (Robson and Jervis Streets)

A-maze-ing Laughter by Beijing-based artist Yue Minjun. (Morton Park at Davie and Denman)

217.5 Arc X 13 by French conceptual artist Bernar Venet (Sunset Beach Park)

Echoes by Canadian artist Michel Goulet (Kitsilano Beach Park)

Engagement by American artist Dennis Oppenheimer (Sunset Beach Park)

Walking Figures by Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz (Broadway and City Hall Canada Line Station)

Walking Figures by Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz (North Vancouver)

News and Events

The Vancouver Biennale came to notoriety through the theft of the hare from Sophie Ryder's Minotaur and Hare sculpture that is in Van Dusen Gardens. [11]

The Vancouver Biennale has also been in the news extensively over the Lenin and Miss Mao sculpture by the Gao Brothers. [12]

The Vancouver Straight Newspaper included Yue Minjun's 'A-maze-ing Laughter' in their 2010 contributors' picks: Outdoors & landmarks. [13] The laughing figures are the iconic signature of the artist and a product of the Cynical Realism art movement that emerged in China in the early 1990s. [14]

The Vancouver Biennale has allowed a number of artists their Canadian artistic debut. Sudarshan Shetty is one such artist who is part of a growing number of young contemporary Indian artists who are internationally recognized for art that abandons or finds new ways of expressing, religious subject matter. [15]

In 2010, Soren Dahlgaard created his Dough Portraits with the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale, for the first time in North America and for the first time in the open air. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magdalena Abakanowicz</span> Polish sculptor (1930-2017)

Marta Magdalena Abakanowicz-Kosmowska was a Polish sculptor and fiber artist. She was known for her use of textiles as a sculptural medium and her outdoor installations. She is widely regarded as one of Poland's most internationally acclaimed artists. She was a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań, Poland, from 1965 to 1990 and a visiting professor at University of California, Los Angeles in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Lum</span> Canadian artist (born 1956)

Kenneth Robert Lum, OC DFA is a dual citizen Canadian and American academic, painter, photographer, sculptor, and writer. Working in a number of media including painting, sculpture and photography, his art ranges from conceptual in orientation to representational in character and is generally concerned with issues of identity in relation to the categories of language, portraiture and spatial politics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebecca Belmore</span> Anishinaabekwe artist

Rebecca Belmore D.F.A. is an interdisciplinary Anishinaabekwe artist who is notable for politically conscious and socially aware performance and installation work. She is Ojibwe and member of Obishikokaang. Belmore currently lives in Toronto, Ontario.

The year 2009 in art involves various significant events.

Gligor Stefanov is a sculptor and environmental installations artist, who lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

<i>Agora</i> (sculpture)

Agora is an installation of 106 headless and armless iron sculptures at the south end of Grant Park in Chicago. Designed by Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz, they were made in a foundry near Poznań between 2004 and 2006. In 2006, the Chicago Park District brought the work to Chicago as a permanent loan from the Polish Ministry of Culture. Similar installations have been constructed throughout the world, but Agora is among the largest.

Shary Boyle D.F.A. is a contemporary Canadian visual artist working in the mediums of sculpture, drawing, painting and performance art. She lives and works in Toronto.

Konstantin Dimopoulos is a social and environmental artist whose art practice is grounded in his sociological and humanist philosophies. He investigates globally relevant questions related to ecology and the human condition through his socio-environmental interventions and conceptual proposals, which argue for the potential of art as a means of social engagement and change. He is known for large public kinetic sculpture, The Blue Tree - an art installation about deforestation and Purple Rain - a textual and visual response to homelessness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kochi-Muziris Biennale</span> International art exhibition held in Indian city, Kochi

The Kochi-Muziris Biennale is an international exhibition of contemporary art held in the city of Kochi in Kerala, India. It is the largest art exhibition in the country and the biggest contemporary art festival in Asia. The Kochi-Muziris Biennale is an initiative of the Kochi Biennale Foundation with support from the Government of Kerala. The concept of Kochi-Muziris Biennale was ideated and executed by Dr. Venu IAS, who was the culture Secretary, Government of Kerala. The exhibition is set in spaces across Kochi, with shows being held in existing galleries, halls, and site-specific installations in public spaces, heritage buildings and disused structures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernar Venet</span> French conceptual artist (born 1941)

Bernar Venet is a French conceptual artist.

Shannon Wilson is a Canadian fashion designer, businesswoman, and philanthropist. She is best known for her former role as lead designer at yoga-apparel company Lululemon Athletica, where she designed some of the company’s most successful products – including the groove pants and logo hoodie. She remains a mentor for the current designers at the company. Recently, she founded Kit and Ace, a technical luxury apparel company, and was the company's creative director. Wilson created "technical cashmere" for Kit and Ace, which is cashmere blended with varying combinations of spandex, cotton and rayon to make it machine washable.

<i>A-maze-ing Laughter</i> Sculpture by Yue Minjun in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

A-maze-ing Laughter is a 2009 bronze sculpture by Yue Minjun, located in Morton Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimsooja</span> South Korean conceptual artist

Kimsooja is a South Korean, multi-disciplinary conceptual artist based in New York, Paris, and Seoul. Her practice combines performance, film, photo, and site-specific installation using textile, light, and sound. Kimsooja's work investigates questions concerning the conditions of humanity, while engaging issues of aesthetics, culture, politics, and the environment. Her principle of ‘non-doing’ and ‘non-making,’ which follows a conceptual and structural investigation of performance through modes of mobility and immobility, inverts the notion of the artist as the predominant actor.

Edward Poitras is a Métis artist based in Saskatchewan. His work, mixed-media sculptures and installations, explores the themes of history, treaties, colonialism, and life both in urban spaces and nature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paolo De Grandis</span>

Paolo De Grandis is an Italian contemporary art curator and president of PDG Arte Communications. He lives currently in Venice.

<i>Freezing Water Number 7</i> Sculpture by Res Jun

Freezing Water Number 7 was a stainless steel sculpture by Chinese artist Ren Jun. It was erected in Vancouver, British Columbia's Vanier Park in 2009, just prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics, for the 2009–2011 Vancouver Biennale. The installation marked Jun's North American debut.

Jagoda Buić is a Croatian visual artist best known for her monumental fiber art installations and tapestries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian pavilion</span>

The Canadian pavilion houses Canada's national representation during the Venice Biennale arts festivals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polish pavilion</span>

The Polish pavilion houses Poland's national representation during the Venice Biennale arts festivals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juliana Cerqueira Leite</span> Brazilian sculptor based in New York (born 1981)

Juliana Cerqueira Leite is a Brazilian sculptor based in New York, known for creating large-scale works that explores the physical presence of the human body. She is considered to push the boundaries of sculpture.

References

  1. ↑ Vancouver Parks Board Report "Biennale Sculpture"
  2. ↑ Vancouver Parks Board "Vancouver Biennale Sculpture"
  3. ↑ Mckenzie, Kevin Hinton & Ryan. "BCLiving". BCLiving. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  4. ↑ "Giant Outdoor Sculptures Coming to Vancouver: Vancouver Biennale 2014". Inside Vancouver. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  5. ↑ Television documentary "Education as part of the Vancouver Biennale"
  6. ↑ "Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale". www.VancouverBiennale.com. October 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  7. ↑ Tourism Report "Vancouver Biennale"
  8. ↑ Article on Charles Jencks "SFU WordPress, 10th July 2010"
  9. ↑ For a list of current sculpture "Vancouver Biennale"
  10. ↑ Richmond Art Gallery "In Transition: New Art from India"
  11. ↑ Sophie Ryder "Vancouver Biennale Artwork Stolen", 2 July 2010
  12. ↑ Asia Sentinel, "Freedom of Expression. Too precious to Throw Away", 4 February 2010
  13. ↑ Article in Straight Newspaper, "Outdoors and Landmarks"
  14. ↑ Yue Minjun's Biography, "Yue Minjun"
  15. ↑ For more Information about Shetty and 'History of Loss' "Shetty debuts at Vancouver Biennale"
  16. ↑ Soren Dahlgaard's Official website "Soren Dahlgaard Official website"
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.