Spring art exhibitions focus on broad themes that define humanity

In Everyday Monuments, Rajesh Vora documents domestic sculptures mounted on rooftops in India’s northwest state of Punjab.

Publication date :

May 03, 2022 • 15 minutes ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation

An image of one of the Punjab domestic sculptures, photographed by Rajesh Vora, from the Everyday Monuments series, 2014-19, currently on display at SAG. Photo courtesy of the artist and PHOTOINK, /PNG

Surrey Art Gallery

Rajesh Vora: everyday monuments

Until May 29

In Everyday Monuments, Rajesh Vora documents domestic sculptures mounted on rooftops in India’s northwest state of Punjab. Made from rebar, wire mesh, cement and paint, many of these objects serve as reservoirs of water while telling a story of identity, diaspora, family and culture. The exhibit features images of 100 of these sculptures, including birds, soccer balls, airliners, automobiles, army tanks, weightlifters, pressure cookers, lions and horses. These photos by Mumbai-based Vora are being shown outside India for the first time. Other exhibitions at the Surrey Art Gallery this spring include ARTS 2022, a juried exhibition organized by the Arts Council of Surrey and the Surrey Art Gallery which showcases a range of work from traditional paintings to electronic media (to July 24).

13750 88th Ave, Surrey 604-501-5566

surrey.ca/artgallery

Kurbatoff Gallery

E. Andrea Klann: The unexpected

Until May 30

Influenced by the first surrealist women, E. Andrea Klann merges realism with the imaginary in her work. Using theatrical and narrative devices, the artist includes invented figures, symbolic narration and unexpected fragments to explore identity, memory and the temporal. In one painting, a carousel appears out of the mist on a Tofino beach as the animals on board watch or jump. In another, a herd of deer races under the chandelier under the Granville Bridge. Now based on Bowen Island, Klann completed her art studies at Emily Carr University of Art + Design and in London.

2435 Granville Street 604-736-5444

kurbatoffgallery.com

Burrard Arts Foundation

Sara Gulamali and Jack Kenna

Until June 11

Sara Gulamali and Jack Kenna are the first artists to exhibit as part of the Burrard Arts Foundation residency program exhibition. Drawing on her family’s diasporic history and relationship to her own identity, Gulamali explores “green screen technology to address the paradoxical hyper-visibility and invisibility of Muslim women,” according to BAF. Kenna is an interdisciplinary artist whose work includes painting and sculpture and often includes found images, objects and text using a wide range of techniques. Drawing inspiration in part from his material surroundings, his compositions incorporate unconventional juxtapositions, eerie backgrounds, and close-ups of objects of subjective and sentimental value. Both artists are based in Vancouver.

#2-258 E 1st Avenue, 604-682-8889

burrardarts.org

Richmond Art Gallery

Erdem Taşdelen: a minaret for the general’s wife

Until July 31

An architectural oddity in Lithuania is the subject of a minaret for the general’s wife. In 1880, a Russian army general named Eduard Totleben built a freestanding minaret, not associated with a mosque, in one of the country’s oldest towns, Kėdainiai. Turkish-Canadian artist Erdem Taşdelen’s research on the minaret led to this exhibit, which features archival photographs, various artifacts, audio of a call to prayer sung in Turkish, and a video shot in the city park where the structure is located, all arranged in a facility that resembles a rehearsal room. “A minaret for the general’s wife speaks to both the potential and the limitations of storytelling,” RAG Director Shaun Dacey said in the press release. “We have seen in media, pop culture and social movements that objects and images can become incredibly powerful vehicles for ideologies. Erdem Taşdelen reflects on this by sharing real and imaginary moments in history that link migration, displacement and appropriation.

Richmond Cultural Center, 7700 Minoru Gate, 604-247-8300

gallery@richmond.ca

Rennie Museum

Spring 2022: Collected Works

Until May 28

The penultimate exhibition of the Rennie Museum in the Wing Sang building, this exhibition brings together photographs by Larry Clark, Katy Grannan and Andres Serrano. Clark’s footage is from his Tulsa series (1980) and includes footage of teenage drug use, sex, and gunfire. Clark is also known for his controversial films such as 1995’s Kids. Grannan’s Gail and Dale series photographs depict the lives of two middle-aged transgender best friends; meanwhile, his series The 99 features large-scale portraits of people photographed in the midday sun in outlying towns along Highway 99 in California’s Central Valley. Serrano’s work focuses on religion, death, torture, sex and race.

51 E Pender St., 604-682-2088