Arni Haraldsson

Firminy is a small French mining town, and the site of the largest collection of Le Corbusier’s architecture outside of the Indian city of Chandigarh. Monumental in scale and civic ambition at its inception, the development at Firminy followed Le Corbusier’s concept of La Ville Radieuse (the Radiant City), an overarching theory of urban redevelopment that was a systematic failure whenever put into practice. The buildings at Firminy were never completed due to local industrial decline, and in recent years what was erected has suffered from political manipulation and physical neglect. The current state of the site is documented in Arni Haraldsson’s photographic series from 1999. Using a historically minded and architecturally oriented curiosity, Haraldsson sets Le Corbusier’s buildings and their modernist utopianism within the frame of a debate between the local inhabitants. Some share a conviction of the social and historical value of the architect’s life and work, while others see the buildings as reminders of the decisions of an authoritarian civic demagoguery.

Haraldsson’s photographs concentrate on two main buildings in Firminy Vert (or Green Firminy as the new town was named), the *Unité d’habitation*, a monumental concrete block apartment complex, and the church at St. Pierre. The construction of this latter edifice was halted mid-stream, and a small architectural model provides a view of its current state. Had it been finished, a large conical roof reminiscent of the cooling tower of a nuclear power plant would have capped the church. Local ecclesiastical authorities thought the design too secular, and their uncertainty, combined with mounting political opposition to Le Corbusier’s plan, put a stop to the project. The church “ruin” has now been declared a national heritage site. The *Unité* was one of six similarly designed apartment complexes that Le Corbusier based on the idea of a ship at sea. Its brutalist, punctuated façade is bisected by a stairway, and capped by a children’s daycare and school on the roof. Some of Haraldsson’s photographs document these facilities, and one depicts a small sculptural protest by some of the tenants’ children. Their interpretation of the disintegrating state of their school can be seen affixed to the ceiling of their classroom. Due to civic cost cutting the north wing of the *Unité* was closed in 1983, spurring the remaining tenants to protest against further closures. They’ve successfully kept the south wing and the school alive, but its future remains uncertain as the city refuses to provide needed upkeep.


Essay: “Between a Rock and a Hard Place," Shepherd Steiner 

A closeup of a corner in a gallery. There are 2 framed pictures showing run-down buildings, and a plinth with a glass case. The plinth holds a miniature model of a building in one of the photos.

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In a gallery, there are many colour photos of different sizes in wooden frames on the wall. in the centre, there is a white plinth with a glass case on top, holding a maquette of a low grey building.

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An entryway into a gallery space with concrete floors. On either side of the entry, there is a photo in a wooden frame. The photos show 2 different large buildings with large green fields beside them. 

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A large gallery space with a large entryway that is brightly lit. On the walls there are several framed photos of architectural spaces. ON the floor, there is a plinth holding a small model building. 

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Firminy

Angela  Grauerholz   

One of Canada's most respected artists, Angela Grauerholz was born in Germany and has lived in Montreal since 1976. Known for her production of dense, dreamlike black and white photographs, Grauerholz has recently begun to explore the use of colour and of alternate methods of photographic production. *Privation* is a recent series of Giclée prints, digitally outputted colour images on watercolour paper, representing books damaged in a fire in the home of the artist two years ago. The books were documented on a flatbed scanner prior to being reproduced, and the results are images whose eerie sculptural depth monumentalize and memorialize the destruction of a lifetime's collection. 

A closeup of 3 vertical photos in silver frames, mounted on a white wall. The images are of covers of books, indecipherable due to fire damage with dark and burnt edges, crinkled and textured.

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Six large photos in silver frames, on a white wall. The photos show different burnt and deteriorated books. The photos are mostly shades of white, black, and green. 

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In a gallery with concrete floors and ceilings, there are nine framed photos. The photos each show one charred and damaged book. The bokos are all different colours, shown with a grey background.

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In a gallery, there are 7 framed photos and a doorway leading out into a foyer. The photos in the room are large and detailed, and show the covers of charred and crumpled books. 

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Privation

Angela Grauerholz

Jill Henderson

In both oversized wall-drawings and miniature "sculpy" sculptures, Scottish-born, New York-based artist Jill Henderson's funky bog creatures ooze through the seams of ordinary architectural space. Her installation in the street level vitrine windows of the Contemporary Art Gallery, Highwideshallow, both describes the physical dimensions of the windows and repopulates the neighborhood with her colorful homunculi. 

A series of small sculpture-like artworks are installed on a floor. A number of fried-egg shaped objects, red building-like figures, and small green round objects are placed widely on the floor.

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Jill Henderson’s text-based work is installed in one of CAG’s window spaces. The window in this image showcases a handwritten text that reads “not really feeling it” behind the silver window frame. 

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This is a stepped-back view of CAG’s window spaces on which Jill Henderson’s text-based works are installed. The texts are all handwritten, and some of them are larger than others.  

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Jill Henderson’s text-based work is installed in one of CAG’s window spaces. The window in this image showcases a handwritten text that reads “as long as it lasts” all in upper cases. 

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Jill Henderson’s drawing is installed in one of CAG’s window spaces. The window in this image showcases a handwritten text that reads “evil talks to evil” all in upper cases. 

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Jill Henderson’s text-based work is installed in one of CAG’s window spaces. The window in this image showcases a handwritten text that reads “all at once a little at a time”  in upper cases.

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A series of small sculpture-like artworks are installed on a floor. A number of fried-egg shaped objects, bones, and small green round objects are piled up around the corner of the room.

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Highwideshallow

Shirley  Tse

Daniel Olson

Ron Terada

Jemima Stehli

Geoffrey Farmer

Joseph  Scanlan

 Chris Hanson & Hendrika Sonnenberg

James Carl

The eight artists participating in *Promises* all make work that seems to be somewhere in between one thing and another, presenting a potential of continually becoming something else. For example, Chris Hanson and Hendrika Sonnenberg's *Fruit Bowls* reside somewhere between sculpture and photography, while Joe Scanlan's work, *Coffer*, is both a practical, functional object and the realization of more formally motivated ideas. Daniel Olson's short performances collected in *Philosophical Moments* puncture the film noir ambience of the video with a kind of quizzical prankishness that underscores the provisional nature of expectations, and experience. The promise of these works is in their potential for just such unexpected outcomes.

On the upper part of the galley wall, seven identical signs are attached in a row. They are black square-shaped signs. A drawing of white brief underwear is printed on each of those black signs.  

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A blue-white coloured neon sign is installed on the wall in a gallery space. The sign shows the exhibition title, PROMISES. 

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This is an installation shot of a group show titled Promises. Several two-dimensional artworks, some framed and some unframed, are mounted on the walls. 

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Several artworks are installed in a gallery space. Five framed black and white photographs are mounted on the left side wall. A wood sculpture is installed in a corner of the room. 

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A photograph depicting an open dishwashing machine is installed on a gallery wall. Below this photograph, a sculpture made of four cylindrical-shaped objects sits on the floor. 

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A large sculpture is installed in a gallery. The sculpture is a sealed large cardboard box placed on a piece of flat wood. Words such as Fragile and Keep Dry are written on the side of the box.

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In a corner of a gallery room, a CRT TV is placed on a wood coffee table. A video work is shown on that TV. A mobile storage cabinet filled with objects is placed next to the TV. 

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This is an installation shot of a gallery space. A set of three photographs are installed on the left wall. Some sculptural installations are placed in the far right corner of the room. 

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James Carl, Geoffrey Farmer, Chris Hanson and Hendrika Sonnenberg, Daniel Olson, Joe Scanla, Jemima Stehli, Ron Terada, Shirley Tse

Promises

Cai Guo-Qiang

Cai Guo-Qiang, originally from China and now living in New York, is currently one of the most highly sought after artists on the international scene. He has exhibited around the world and was recipient of the grand international prize at the 1999 Venice Biennale. Cai Guo-Qiang is celebrated for both his outdoor public projects using components as varied as fire, dynamite, kites, and jacuzzi baths and for his elegant gallery installations using paper, gunpowder, rocks, and medicinal herbs. The Contemporary Art Gallery and the Charles H. Scott Gallery are collaborating with Cai Guo-Qiang on projects conceived specifically for each gallery. 

The Contemporary Art Gallery exhibition has two compo­nents. One takes place at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, the first full-scale classical garden constructed outside of China. One of its main features is a pavilion-crowned, simu­lated mountain comprised of rocks shipped from China. Cai Guo-Qiang will install fog machines, fabricate clouds, and add other elements to this "mountain" to create an artificial misty landscape that will be painted on site by three professional ink­brush painters. In China it is common for artists to use minia­ture garden constructions or small sculptures as source materi­al for painted landscapes, an approach vastly different to that of the West. The theatrical presentation will exaggerate these processes by turning them into a "performance" that applies traditional Chinese concepts to contemporary Western ones. This component of the project will take place on July 24th, 25th and 26th from 11 am to 3 pm. and will be open to the public for viewing each day. Members of the Contemporary Art Gallery will have free admission to the garden. 

The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden project will function as the genesis for the exhibition at the Contemporary Art Gallery in the B.C. Binning Gallery. The ink-brush paintings produced in the gar­den will be displayed in the gallery accompanied by fog machines and clouds. There will also be audio/visual documen­tation of the Sun Yat-Sen project so that visitors will have a fuller context in which to view the exhibition. 

Cai Guo-Qiang's exhibition *Impressionistic Drawing* will take place at the Charles H. Scott Gallery from August 3rd to September 23rd. 

These exhibitions are funded by the Vancouver Foundation, Opus Framing and Art Supplies, and the BC Arts Council. 


Three black ink landscape paintings are mounted on the gallery wall. They are long hanging scroll paintings. The moon above bear woods, bamboo trees, and rocky mountains are depicted in the painting.

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Twelve coloured photographs are assembled on a sheet of white paper. They record different art practices that took place at different locations and times. Some photos were taken outside.

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This is an installation shot of Cai Guo Qiang’s solo exhibition at CAG. This show includes black hanging scroll paintings, photographs, a video work, and a sculpture. 

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Cai Guo Qiang and two assistants are painting a large landscape painting on a wall. This installation work is titled ‘Performing Chinese Ink Painting.’ A large audience stands behind to see works.  

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A large black ink landscape painting is mounted on a gallery wall. It shows an aerial view of mountain tops. A small machine placed on the floor emits white mist to the front of this paintings.

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Brian Jungen

Brian Jungen is a Vancouver artist who is quickly gaining a strong national reputation as one of Canada's most promising younger artists. He has been invited to exhibit across the coun­try and the National Gallery of Canada recently purchased a major piece for their permanent collection. Jungen is noted for using common everyday objects as source material for remarkably inventive works of art. Examples include disassembling Nike Air Jordan training shoes and reconfiguring them into startling simulations of Northwest Coast Indian masks, and constructing an enormous, suspended whale skeleton from cut-up plastic deck chairs. 

For the Contemporary Art Gallery, Jungen will be presenting a sculptural installation in the Alvin Balkind Gallery. It will con­sist of an arrangement of pallets, the kind used for moving and storing warehouse materials. Such pallets are usually made of cheap materials, designed for purely utilitarian functions, and considered disposable, often ending up as firewood. Jungen's pallets, however, are constructed from the finest quality cedar, their surfaces sanded to a smooth finish, and then carefully pegged together rather than nailed. These sculptures retain the visual imprint of industrial pallets, yet are simultaneously transformed into highly aesthetic objects that recall the clean economy of Minimalist art from the 1960s. This work, while visually different from his previous projects, is consistent with Jungen's practice of exploring the edge between objects whose -purpose is utilitarian and objects whose purpose is for display.

This exhibition is sponsored by Astro Graphic Industries Ltd. and Benjamin Moore Paints (Dunbar, Kerrisdale, and Richmond). 

Essay: "Shapeshifter," Scott Watson

A stack of wood pieces, which look like large duckboards, is installed in a gallery space. They are identical in shape and size. This close-up photograph shows only the top five boards on this stack. 

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An unpainted wooden tunnel is built in front of CAG’s window spaces. It resembles construction hoardings. The title of this work is “Unlimited Growth Increases The Divide.”

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This is a close-up view of Brian Jungen’s installation resembling construction hoardings. Many posters are attached to the surface. A flier about a concert and a photograph is visible in this image. 

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This is Brian Jungen’s installation resembling construction hoardings. Wood tiles with some small windows cover the tunnel. Some trees are planted in front of this installation.

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A stack of ten wood pieces, which look like large duckboards, is installed in the middle of a gallery space. They are identical in shape and size. None of them are painted. 

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This image depicts the inside view of Brian Jungen’s installation that resembles construction hoardings. Fliers, many of them are duplicates, cover the unpainted wood surface of the tunnel.

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Ken Lum

Vancouver artist Ken Lum will be featured in one of the two opening exhibitions at the new Contemporary Art Gallery. Lum is one of Canada's most celebrated and internationally exhibited artists. His work has been presented in Canada, across Europe and the USA, as well as Australia, Brazil, South Africa, China, and Japan. He was recently included in the 2000 Shanghai Biennial, and in 2002 he will have a survey of his photo-based work at the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography. Lum is well known for appropriating the symbols of popular culture and using text in relationship to visual components.

His exhibition for CAG's new B.C. Binning Gallery will consist of large wall works that simulate business signs for small enterprises such as restaurants, hair salons or travel agencies. They mimic a popular genre of signage that provides a section where words can be changed for slogans and sales announcements, much like movie marquees. Lum has animated these signs with texts that make statements that both relate to, and are in contradistinction to, the nature of the business and the types of messages they usually commu­nicate. These signs provide a more direct and challenging "voice" for their unseen proprietors. 


Essay: “UNTITLED (KEN),” Michael Turner

Ken Lum’s works are mounted on the gallery walls. They are text based two dimensional works with colourful advertisement posters. Their sizes vary, but many of them are larger than human scale.

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Ken Lum’s works are mounted on the gallery walls. They are text based two dimensional works with advertisement posters, such as an anti-racist text accompanying the ad for a sexual service. 

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Germaine Koh

Germaine Koh, from Toronto, is an emerging artist from a younger generation than Lum. The esteem her work is gen­erating is represented by her invitation to the prestigious 1998 Sydney Biennial in Australia. Germaine Koh's work mar­ries conceptual strategies with the most mundane of events and actions resulting in creations that are humorous, con­templative and ephemeral. 

For her exhibition at the Contemporary Art Gallery she will be presenting two works. The work titled *...* (2000) fea­tures a gentle and continuous shower of small ball bearings falling from tracks in the ceiling. They fall and bounce, finding their own settling points, often joining puddles of other ball bearings on the floor. The ball bearings are then recycled back into the tracks and rain down to create new patterns on the floor. A second piece, *Prayers* (1999), will take place on the outside of the building. A smoke machine is networked to an office computer and will translate its daily texts into Morse code. This translation will be manifested as smoke signals that can be viewed from the street. Germaine Koh's exhibition will be presented in the Alvin Balkind Gallery. 

Essay: "IMMANENT DOMAIN," Laura U. Marks

A number of small steel balls for pinball are scattered on the gallery floor. This is a detailed view showing a collection of steel balls reflecting light in various directions. 

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White smoke is coming out of a thin pipe connected to the glass entrance of CAG’s building. The smoke is emitted outside from a black machine placed inside the entrance.

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This is an installation shot of Germaine Koh’s art installation inside CAG. A countless number of pachinko balls are unevenly scattered on the gallery floor. 