Ken Lum, Don’t Be Silly, You’re Not Ugly, 1993, chromogenic print, lacquer, enamel on aluminum,182.9 x 243.8 x 5.1 cm, Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift of Maryon and Jack Adelaar.Photo: Tim Bonham, Vancouver Art Gallery
June 23 to August 19, 2012
The Kelowna Art Gallery is very pleased to present this exhibition of works drawn from the permanent collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, selected by their Senior Curator (Historical), Ian Thom, and circulated by their Across the Province Program. The show includes forty-one pieces by twenty-seven different artists, many of whom have never before been exhibited in Kelowna. The over-arching theme is the notion of speaking out about issues, specifically in this case, war, social injustice, the role of oppressive regimes, and the perception and treatment of women. Many of the works, naturally, are hard-hitting in their subject and treatment. One long wall in the gallery will be devoted to black-and-white documentary photographs, a genre that grew to prominence in the hands of photo-journalists in the twentieth century. But works in many media are included, from painting and printmaking to sculpture and one video installation. Some of the more famous artists included in the show are Pablo Picasso, Ken Lum, Ed Burtynsky, Leon Golub and Nancy Spero.
Bearing Witness is organized and circulated by the Vancouver Art Gallery with the generous support of:
Additional resources:
(click artist name to view)
Ken Lum on being an artist
Larry Fink on why he chose photography
Leon Golub and Nancy Spero in their studios
Edward Burtynsky, The Three Gorges Dam
Jenny Holzer, Writing & Difficulty
Bruce Nauman, Identity
Magdalena Campos-Pons on her work
Larry Clark on his work
Barbara Kruger, Circus