Home and Away: Ian Wallace

Opening Reception:
Tuesday, March 12, 6 – 8 PM

At the age of ten, Ian Wallace moved with his family from the interior of British Columbia to West Vancouver, where he developed his skills as an artist by sketching local views in the community. It was at this time and in this place where his lifelong admiration for modern paintings began, as a young Wallace saw new work by Gordon Smith displayed at the New Design Gallery on Marine Drive and attended a presentation by B.C. Binning with his class at Inglewood Middle School. Years later, Wallace – who went on to become one of the internationally renowned founders of the Vancouver School of photoconceptualism – would credit these early experiences in West Vancouver as being seminal to his development as an artist.

This exhibition begins with a selection of drawings and watercolours from the artist’s youth, which are presented in tandem with new photographs taken from the same vantage points within the community. This hyper-local work is presented together with works from 2014 that are part of Wallace’s ongoing Hotel Series, created and exhibited in Baden-Baden, Germany. Despite being devised far away from West Vancouver, this series has strong ties to the community of Wallace’s youth. Place plays a crucial role in this exhibition, with an unstated acknowledgement that home is never far away, regardless of one’s physical location in the world.

This exhibition, along with its publication, is supported by the Audain Foundation.

Please note this exhibition is wheelchair accessible via Esquimalt Avenue.

Please note the programming room on the third floor is not wheelchair accessible.