Jeff Wall works to open new Whistler gallery
Audain Art Museum will open to the public Nov. 21
The Audain Art Museum in Whistler will be opening later this year with an exhibition by artist Jeff Wall.
Wall, who lives in Vancouver, is one of the country’s leading artists, known for large-format photographic works displayed in backlit lightboxes. He’s also considered a major international artist for turning photography into a fine art.
Suzanne Greening, the museum’s executive director, is thrilled to have works by Wall opening the temporary exhibition space.
“It’s exciting that we can present Jeff Wall as our inaugural exhibition,” she said.
Michael Audain is spending an estimated $30 million to build the 56,000-square-foot museum, which will open to the public Nov. 21.
It will house the collection of B.C. art he and his wife Yoshiko Karasawa have amassed, including Northwest Coast masks, Emily Carr paintings as well as contemporary works by Wall, Rodney Graham and Stan Douglas.
Greening said Audain specifically wanted to feature a B.C. artist for the opening of the temporary exhibition space.
“We approached Jeff. He was very honoured and pleased to be part of this,” she said.
In a phone interview, Wall said he thought it would be “really interesting” to show his work in the context of a historical view of art in B.C.
“I think Michael’s idea, as I understand it, is to create a museum that presents what British Columbia art has been — and is — for people who will be coming to Whistler,” Wall said from Los Angeles.
“I’d like to think I’m part of that history. It seems like a pretty appropriate context. It’s one that I haven’t shown that often because most of the time I don’t show in British Columbia.”
The Wall exhibition is expected to feature 21 pictures by Wall, including The Storyteller, In Front of a Nightclub and Boy Falls From Tree.
In 2012, a record price for a Wall work was reached at Christie’s auction. Dead Troops Talk sold for $3.6 million, more than triple the previous auction high for a Jeff Wall of $1.1 million.
It’s expected the Wall exhibition will be on display in Whistler for at least five months.
Greening said the AAM is a non-profit organization that has to generate revenue. She said the board has decided to set admission at $15 for adults, and anyone 18 and under is admitted free.