Divya Mehra

The work of Divya Mehra melds critical precision with biting wit to produce disarming, deceptively complex meditations on difficult subjects. With a canny visual language and piercing concision, Mehra’s works give unexpected form to trenchant observations on themes spanning racial violence, colonial theft, displacement, and grief, deftly layering nuanced critique with an acerbic humour. 

In  ~~*Live Laugh Love*~~, Mehra presents a pair of new works aimed at the social landscape of the Pacific Northwest. On the walls of the B.C. Binning Gallery, a monumental monochrome painting anchors the exhibition. Offering a wry critical counterpoint to the work of late American artist Robert Ryman, Mehra renders in white-on-white a racist poster that circulated in suburban Vancouver last year, producing a ghostly space at once seemingly empty and laden with the ways whiteness operates, occupies and subsumes.

In the gallery opposite, Mehra has constructed a child-sized play structure assembled from nearly 1,000 yoga blocks. Modeled on a castle from Nintendo’s original Super Mario Bros, the sculpture rehearses references familiar to the region — leisure, wellness, safe spaces, tech — while asking to whom the benefits of these cultures might primarily accrue and, more pointedly, who might require safety from whom in this landscape.

*Divya Mehra: ~~Live Laugh Love~~*  is generously supported by the Friends of Divya Mehra.

#### Biography
Divya Mehra (b. 1981, Winnipeg) is known for her meticulous attention to the interaction of form, medium and site. Her works are a reminder of the complex realities of displacement, loss and oppression. Mehra’s work has been exhibited, screened and commissioned by Frieze Sculpture, Los Angeles; Creative Time, New York; MoMA PS1, New York; Queens Museum of Art, New York; MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA; CCA Wattis Institute, San Francisco; Nuit Blanche, Toronto; and the Embassy of Canada in Washington, D.C. She has been featured in publications such as the New York Times, Times of India, ArtAsiaPacific, Hyperallergic, The Globe and Mail, and The Washington Post. Mehra’s work is in numerous public collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Global Affairs Canada; and the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina. She is the recipient of the 2022 Sobey Art Award. Mehra lives and works in Seattle.

Exhibition Essay Booklet - Divya Mehra - P1.pdf

CAG - Divya  Mehra - Exhibition Guide - Regular Print - Web.pdf

CAG - Divya  Mehra - Exhibition Guide - Large Print - P1.pdf

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Black vinyl text on a white gallery wall leading into an exhibition, introducing the artist “Divya Mehra.” The exhibition title “Live Laugh Love" is written in strikethrough letters.

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The front façade of a castle built from white yoga blocks, resembling a child's play structure. The castle sits in the centre of a gallery and occupies the majority of its space.

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A castle resembling a child's play structure built from white yoga blocks, viewed from the front left. The castle’s top level sits atop a larger ground level with an arched entryway.

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A castle resembling a child's play structure built from white yoga blocks, viewed from the front right. The castle’s top level sits atop a larger ground level with an arched entryway.

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A castle resembling a child's play structure built from white yoga blocks, viewed from the back. The castle’s top level sits atop a larger ground level with an arched entryway.

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"A close-up of parapets along the top of a wall, all made from yoga blocks. "

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"A close-up of a wall built from yoga blocks with two cut out windows. In the lower foreground there are two yoga block parapets visible.  "

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"A close-up of yoga blocks stacked one on top of another to create a wall, resembling a brick wall pattern. "

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" A panoramic view of an empty gallery with white walls and concrete floors. The side walls have white text painted on them, which is difficult to read. On the left, the word “Whites” is visible. "

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"A white gallery wall with a paragraph of white text painted on it, which is difficult to read. The gallery is otherwise empty.  "

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An oblique view of a white gallery wall with a paragraph of white text painted on it, which is difficult to read. The reflection of light makes the top lines of text more visible. 

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An oblique view of a white gallery wall with lines of white text painted on it, which are difficult to read. The reflection of light reveals the phrase “Are you looking for somewhere your children can play.”

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An oblique view of a white gallery wall with lines of white text painted on it. The reflection of light reveals the phrases “spent amongst their own people” and “because they deserve it.”

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"A close-up of a white wall with lines of white text painted on it, which are difficult to read. The reflection of light reveals the word “diversity” in quotation marks below the word “schools.” "

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A white gallery wall with a white text graphic painted on it, which is difficult to read. Above the wall are five windows. The gallery is otherwise empty. 

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An oblique view of a white gallery wall below a row of windows with a white text graphic painted on it, which is difficult to read. The reflection of light reveals the phrase “Whites-only”. 

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A close-up of a white gallery wall below a row of windows with white text painted on it, which is difficult to read. The reflection of light reveals the words “Join us for” at the top of the wall.

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"An oblique view of a white gallery wall with a white text graphic painted on it, which is difficult to read. The reflection of light reveals the word “Whites” arched across the wall. "

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An oblique view of a white gallery wall with a white text graphic painted on it, which is difficult to read. The reflection of light reveals the word "Moms" accross the bottom of the wall. 

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A detail of white text painted on a white wall. The angle of the light hitting the wall reveals the uneven contrast between the text and walls from the camera's point of view.

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Kablusiak

Inuvialuk artist Kablusiak embraces the wideness of Inuit experience, encompassing in their work joy, despair, sexuality, and, as an Inuk living outside Inuit Nunangat, displacement. Across an agile practice that includes drawing, sculpture, installation, and video, Kablusiak pushes the conventions of modern Inuit art with wit, irreverence and camp.
 
At the Contemporary Art Gallery, the artist exhibits *Double Feature*, two bodies of work that wryly comment on the absurdities and rituals of art and culture. Addressing the lofty aspirations associated with “high art,” Kablusiak adapts their trademark doodle figures to spell out a message across CAG’s façade, nested among humorous and heartbreaking depictions of everyday life. At Yaletown-Roundhouse Station, the artist presents large-scale photographs of their mischievous Ookpik sculptures. Looking askance at the handcrafted doll’s fetishistic popularity in the Canadian imagination, Kablusiak draws on the respective intimacies of the mass market and the subcultural, emphasizing a place for both in contemporary Inuit life. 

#### Biography
Kablusiak is a renowned multidisciplinary Inuvialuk artist who creates work in a variety of materials including, but not limited to, soapstone, permanent marker, bed sheets, felt, fur, and words. Their work explores the dis/connections between existence within and without Inuit Nunangat, the impacts of colonization on gender and sexuality expressions, trying to make people laugh, and the everyday. Kablusiak holds a BFA in Drawing from AUArts in Mohkinstsis/Calgary, where they are currently based. In all of their creative work Kablusiak seeks to demystify Inuit art and create space for Inuk-led representations of the diversity of Inuit cultures. Their work can be found in the collections of the Indigenous Art Centre, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Art Gallery of Alberta, Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity, and Global Affairs Visual Art Collection, among others. Kablusiak was awarded the 2023 Sobey Art Award and is represented by Norberg Hall.

CAG - Kablusiak - Exhibition Guide - Regular Print - P1.pdf

CAG - Kablusiak - Exhibition Guide - Large Print - P1.pdf

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CAG’s façade with Kablusiak's Double Feature across eight street-facing windows. The artworks are line drawn figures engaged in various activities. Some of the figures spell out words with their bodies.

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A pair of windows featuring line drawn figures engaged in various activities. Some of the figures spell out “for” and “better” with their bodies.

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A pair of windows featuring line drawn figures engaged in various activities. Some of the figures spell out “or” and “worse” with their bodies.

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A pair of windows featuring line drawn figures engaged in various activities. Some of the figures spell out “art” and “lives” with their bodies.

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A pair of windows featuring line drawn figures engaged in various activities. Some of the figures spell out “for” and “ever” with their bodies.

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A corner view of a SkyTrain station with photographs of Ookpiit in its windows. From left to right: two Ookpiit with leather gear, a Furby-inspired one, one with no fur and a Garfield-inspired one.

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A frontal view of a SkyTrain station with photographs depicting Ookpik figures, or stuffed owl toys, in its windows. From left to right are a Furby-inspired Ookpik, one with no fur and a Garfield-inspired one.

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A frontal view of a SkyTrain station with photographs depicting Ookpik figures, or stuffed owl toys, in its windows. The Ookpiit both have red fur and sport leather accessories.

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Double Feature

We’re working on our [upcoming exhibitions](/exhibitions-and-events/upcoming). Check back soon! [Visit our archive](/exhibitions-and-events/archive/all) to see past exhibitions and events.

Closed for installation

Exhibitions