Surrey Art Gallery is hosting an informal tour of its newly launched exhibitions on Feb. 9.
Leading the tour is the gallery’s Curator of Exhibitions and Collections, Jordan Strom, who will provide background on the distinct approaches and techniques of the artists whose works are featured in the exhibitions.
The group exhibition Beyond Vague Terrain: The City and the Serial Image shows many sides to cities, especially Metro Vancouver’s. Through photography, painting, drawing, and video, the artists have used the strategy of multiple images to create compelling ways of representing experiences of the city. The first instalment of Open Sound 2012 is Kristen Roos’ sound art installation titled Underground that uses found sounds and existing furnishings from the Surrey Arts Centre to create a resonant aural and tactile experience for visitors.
The tour will examine how and why the particular artworks on display were chosen for the exhibitions, illustrate interesting stories about how the artworks relate to the artists’ previous work, and illuminate the many ideas explored in the exhibitions. Both regular tour participants and first-time gallery visitors are encouraged to ask questions and share their responses to the artworks.
What will those on the tour experience? Beyond Vague Terrain includes Sylvia Grace Borda’s interactive photographic database of every bus stop in Surrey; Roy Kiyooka’s street photographs that freeze moving figures and passing vehicles against storefront facades in late-1970s East Vancouver; and Helma Sawatzky’s recombined images of a new building site in South Surrey that speak to the rapid development of this part of the Lower Mainland. For Open Sound 2012, Roos has installed speakers and tactile transducers into two existing sofas so that they vibrate and generate low-level sound, which is derived from recordings made in the basement of the Surrey Arts Centre.
The tour is from 7-8:30 p.m. and there will be time for refreshments and conversation afterwards. Admission to the event is by donation. Surrey Art Gallery Association members are free.
The gallery is located at 13750 88 Ave. Phone 604-501-5566 or check www.surrey.ca/arts for further information.