welcome to our
SATURDAY EVENING POST
December 7th, 2024
This week, we are proud to celebrate the recent accomplishments of several of our artists. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to them for their outstanding achievements. These artists, who quietly enrich our community with their dedication and support for their peers, deserve broader recognition and celebration. We hope to share this joy and foster a spirit of acknowledgment, encouraging institutions and private collectors alike to champion their work. By supporting these artists, we contribute to the growth and vitality of the Canadian art scene.
Just announced this week, The Cloverdale Sport and Ice Complex in Surrey will soon feature Stillness, Then Return to Ground, a public artwork by our artist John Patkau and Peter M. Wenger. Reflecting the duality of motion and stillness, the sculptures celebrate the energy of ice sports while offering moments of pause and reflection.
Starting as flat steel planes, these forms will be transformed through precise folds and curved cuts, evoking the fluid yet fleeting movements of athletes on ice—like the apex of a skater’s jump or a hockey face-off. The resulting arcs and layered surfaces will capture motion frozen in time, creating a visual dialogue between stillness and action. Situated in the northwest plaza, the installation balances scale and setting, integrating harmoniously with the surrounding architecture and landscape.
The project will be realised in collaboration with Abaton Projects and George Third and Son, highlights technical craftsmanship and material economy. By transforming flat steel into dynamic forms, the artwork embodies the resilience and responsiveness of ice, inviting viewers to find meaning through their own stories.
Stillness, Then Return to Ground captures the spirit of the complex, a place of action, reflection, and community, offering a timeless invitation to engage with its layered narrative.
ABOVE IMAGES:
Artist rendering of the project. Images courtesy of John Patkau.
Our dear artist Barbara Astman was honoured with the 2024 Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts for artistic achievement. This prestigious award, administered by the Canada Council for the Arts, recognizes her nearly 50-year career marked by innovative and influential contributions to contemporary art.
Astman's interdisciplinary practice explores a wide range of photo-based media. Her work is celebrated for its experimental nature and engagement with technological developments, offering fresh perspectives on everyday life. She has been instrumental in shaping visual culture since the early 1970s, continually redefining artistic expression.
Beyond her artistic practice, Astman has significantly contributed to art education, teaching at OCAD University from 1975 to 2021 and inspiring generations of emerging artists. She has also served on numerous boards and advisory committees, including the Art Gallery of Ontario's Board of Trustees and the Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art. Her works are featured in prominent public, corporate, and private collections, such as the National Gallery of Canada, the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
ABOVE PHOTOS:
-Barbara Astman with Governor General Mary Simon. Photo credit: MS Anne
-Marie Brisson, Rideau Hall © OSGG, 2024-Governor General Mary Simon with this year’s award receipients. Photo credit: MS Anne
-Marie Brisson, Rideau Hall © OSGG, 2024
-Installation view of Barbara Astman work Woven Stories #38 and Woven Stories 48C in the National Gallery of Canada. Image courtesy of the artist.
-Barbara Astman, Black and White (Portraits and Conversations with Empty Vessels), 2016-2019, Archival pigment print, 23 x 24 in.
-Barbara Astman, #2 nearsofar, 2000-2012, Archival digital print, 43.5 x 18 in.
In November, our artist David Spriggs, known for his large-scale, three-dimensional installations, received the distinguished honour of The Fondation Jacques Rougerie – Académie des Beaux-Arts Artistic Prize for Space. It is a prestigious biennial award that recognises artists whose works push the boundaries of creativity and innovation in exploring the theme of space.
Established in 2020 in collaboration with the esteemed Académie des Beaux-Arts, the prize celebrates groundbreaking contributions across various artistic disciplines, including painting, sculpture, engraving, drawing, musical composition, film, photography, choreography, and audiovisual arts. Recipients are awarded €10,000, a testament to the significant impact of their work in shaping contemporary artistic expressions related to space.
His work stands out for its exploration of the interplay between physical and metaphysical space, combining cutting-edge techniques with deep conceptual underpinnings. Spriggs’ installations often delve into the perception of space and time, layering translucent materials to create mesmerizing, almost holographic forms that challenge traditional notions of dimension and perspective.
ABOVE PHOTOS:
-David Spriggs. Photo credit: 2024 ©Edouard Brane
-Award ceremony in progress. Photo credit: 2024 © Edouard Brane
-Award ceremony in progress. Photo credit: 2024 © Edouard Brane
-Award ceremony in progress. Photo credit: ©Patrick Rimond
-Group photo of award recipients. Photo credit: 2024 © Edouard Brane
-David Spriggs, First Wave, Oku-Noto Triennale, Suzu, Japan, 2021, Acrylic paint on layered transparencies, lightbox, framework, 382 x 107 x 150 inches / 970 x 271 x 381 cm. Photo credit: Kichiro Okamura
-David Spriggs, White Wave, 2020, Acrylic on layered plexiglass in plexiglass display case, 60 x 36 x 36 in. Photo credit: Kyle Juron, © Paul Kyle Gallery
SOME WORKS FROM OUR CERAMICS COLLECTION
ABOVE WORKS:
-A collection of Wayne Ngan ceramics
-Wayne Ngan, Stoneware vase with impressed mark, height: 9 in.
-Wayne Ngan, Black glazed porcelain vase, height: 10 in.
-Wayne Ngan, Vase, height: 11.25 in.
-Wayne Ngan, Lidded jar, height: 6.5 in.
-Wayne Ngan, Stoneware vase with hakeme slip, height: 9 in.
ABOVE WORKS:
-Pablo Picasso, Toros (A.R. 161), 1952, Ceramic, diameter: 7.625 in.
-Pablo Picasso, Chouette (A.R. 605), c. 1930, Terre de Faience vase, 12.125 x 5.375 x 4 in.
WORKS FROM OUR GROUP EXHIBITION
ABOVE WORKS:
-Jack Shadbolt, Garden of Eden, 1973, Conte on paper, 46 x 96 in.
-Jack Shadbolt, Stripe and Land Theme, 1964, Oil and lucite on canvas, 39 x 49 in.
ABOVE WORKS:
-Patrice Lesick, Apparition of Magi, 1991, Acrylic on canvas, 74 x 64 in.
-Geoff Rees, Untitled, Acrylic on canvas, 57 x 48 in.
-Geoff Rees, Untitled, Acrylic on canvas, 57 x 48 in.
-John Patkau, CD-4M, 2014, Steel plate, 24 x 36 x 70 in.
ABOVE WORK:
-Robert Young, Anecdote of The Jar, 2022, Acrylic on linen, 72 x 48 in.