The Great Reveal: Restoration of a Sophie Pemberton Masterpiece

By Duncan M. Ferguson, AGGV Exhibitions Preparator

Details in the emblematic portrait of Bibi La Purée will be visible for the first time in decades. Sophie Pemberton’s portrait of Bibi La Purée hasn’t been fit for exhibition in decades. There are few artworks that represent so much of an artist, but this one weaves a web of significance into one painting.

Escapism Through Chinese Landscape Painting

By Audrey Wang, AGGV Volunteer

The practice of Chinese ink painting was a personal and meditative exercise, the essence of the work derived from the spontaneous expression of feelings. And in the Song dynasty, landscape painting became a symbol of escape and sanctuary from the chaos of reality.

Reflections From the New Extreme Program

This year’s New Extreme Program involved 3 groups of insightful, creative and inspiring youth who created inquiry projects with 3 local artists. They had to stop just short of completion, due to COVID 19. Here is a sense of the important work they did together, in their own words.

Artist In Our Collection: Gordon Smith (1919-2020)

By Audrey Wang, AGGV Volunteer

The centenarian and beloved BC-based artist and philanthropist, Gordon Appelbe Smith, worked prolifically up until he turned 100. The AGGV is fortunate to have many of Smith’s artworks that document his West Coast aesthetic. This body of works also serves as a profound testament to the art movements of the 20th century in Western Canada.

Wild Ceramics from the AGGV’s Collection

By Marina DiMaio, AGGV Marketing Assistant 

In our ongoing celebration of the AGGV’s striking ceramics collection, we searched high and low for some of our wildest ceramics. Get ready to discover some of the incredibly inventive ways the artists in our collection have reimagined and reinvigorated this essential, and innately transformable, material, of earth and water – taking us “back to the land”, through “the ills of the city”, and far off into the future!

Miles Lowry Breathing Spaces at the Massey Gallery

The Massey Sales Gallery is proud to present Miles Lowry Breathing Spaces, a solo show and sale of the renown Victoria-based artist’s new work which he created on a recent trip to his beloved Ireland.