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Contemporary Art Gallery

555 Nelson Street
Vancouver, Canada
Open from Tuesday to
Sunday 12 pm → 6 pm

Admission always free
ArchiveExhibition
4 Dec 93until15 Jan 94

Noel Harding

555 Hamilton St

A closeup of a small sculpture on a concrete floor. The work is a cardboard box on a small wood ramp. The corner of the box is open, a screwdriver with a clear handle shaped like a lightbulb inside.

The Contemporary Art Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition by Toronto/Amsterdam-based artist Noel Harding. Harding has been exhibiting since 1972 and in recent years has gained an international reputation for his sculptural installations and for public art commissions. In 1988, he had a retrospective at the Art Gallery of Ontario, and in 1993 a major exhibition of recent work was mounted at the Palace of Exhibitions in Budapest. His public art commissions include the Mississauga City Hall in 1990, and a rooftop sculpture for the City of Amsterdam in 1991.

The three multi-component sculptures to be exhibited at the Contemporary Art Gallery were included in the Budapest exhibition and will then be travelling to Moscow after the Vancouver showing. Harding uses industrial materials such as corrugated cardboard, aluminum beading, and glass bottles. One of the sculptures is three metres high and consists of two suit jackets made of cardboard that are mounted on a metal armature. These giant jackets are expressively formed and, as presented by Harding, convey a sense of humour with his debunking of heroics of monumental sculpture and the authority of the suit.

Two large sculptures in a gallery. The works are made of metal pyramidal frame bases, with huge blazers made of cardboard at the top. The blazers face each other and one is leaning forward slightly.
The corner of a gallery with white floors and walls. There are 3 grey panels on the walls. On 1 panel there is a flat, wrench-shaped cardboard piece. This shape is repeated in 3D, leaning on the wall.
A wrench-shaped cardboard sculpture on the floor of a gallery. The work is made of 2 flat sides resting on the floor like a tent. In the "jaws" there is a glowing lightbulb, hanging from the ceiling.
A lightbulb hangs low from the ceiling of a dark gallery space. 4 small sculptures are aglow. They are cardboard boxes, on small wood ramps, with large screwdrivers stuck in their opened corners.
The corner of a gallery with 3 grey panels on the walls. Across 2 panels there is a flat, wrench-shaped cardboard piece. This shape is repeated in 3D, leaning on the wall with a light in its "jaw."
A closeup of a small sculpture on a concrete floor. The work is a cardboard box on a small wood ramp. The corner of the box is open, a screwdriver with a clear handle shaped like a lightbulb inside.
Two large sculptures in a gallery. The works are made of metal pyramidal frame bases, with huge blazers made of cardboard at the top. The blazers face each other and one is leaning forward slightly.
The corner of a gallery with white floors and walls. There are 3 grey panels on the walls. On 1 panel there is a flat, wrench-shaped cardboard piece. This shape is repeated in 3D, leaning on the wall.
A wrench-shaped cardboard sculpture on the floor of a gallery. The work is made of 2 flat sides resting on the floor like a tent. In the "jaws" there is a glowing lightbulb, hanging from the ceiling.
A lightbulb hangs low from the ceiling of a dark gallery space. 4 small sculptures are aglow. They are cardboard boxes, on small wood ramps, with large screwdrivers stuck in their opened corners.
The corner of a gallery with 3 grey panels on the walls. Across 2 panels there is a flat, wrench-shaped cardboard piece. This shape is repeated in 3D, leaning on the wall with a light in its "jaw."