ART – A CONTEMPORARY TOUR
Whistler, picturesquely backed by snow- capped peaks, is filled to overflowing with life, world-class dining and art that dazzles the imagination. Public sculptures are spread throughout the village, including the massive stone cairn INUKSHUK which symbolizes friendship and a welcome to visitors in Whistler. The collection of sculptures also emphasizes the level of fine art one will most fully appreciate by touring the many galleries, where imagery cascades off walls and sits upon pedestals to make each space a warren of colour, creativity and diversity. With staff well- versed about their artists and techniques, one feels confident of the independent curatorial integrity of each venue. There is more to Whistler than outdoor recreation, and these three galleries are an excellent introduction to the B.C. art scene. realize his complex artistry speaks for all its many parts. PAUL GARBETT’s encaustic (hot wax paintings) on wood art has an ethereal sense. It’s almost as if the fauna he portrays has appeared through a thick mist and stopped to gaze at an interloping onlooker. Each seems as curious about the viewer as the viewer is curious about them.
Working reductively, JALLEN adds layers and then scrapes them partially away with abandon. The resulting pieces have a strong abstracted quotient but sufficient entrancing beauty remains in the bits of nature that triumph visually overall. WHISTLER VILLAGE ART has a stable roster that makes one think while it runs the complete range of artistic genres: from scenic nature and contemporized totemic pieces to finely wrought jewellery and amazing sculptures. All showcase the creativity that is a Whistler gallery hallmark.
Snippets of paper from vintage magazines, photos and old books are collage fodder for JAY KELLEY whose art fools the eye but entrances the mind. As you realize each “stroke” is but a tiny slip of paper, you want to dissect each image but soon
JUDY CHENG, one of many artists that speak of nature so convincingly, creates canvases neither tame nor threatening, but instead alludes to a power waiting to be unleashed. With acrylics she captures the intensity of winter by bringing one snow that feels bitingly cold to the eye. Her snatches of the wild are not pristine pines clad in a white mantel but concentrate on the lower brush and straggling weeds eking out an existence beneath their brethren.
MOUNTAIN GALLERIES has an array of large and small sculptures holding court amid a display of exquisite jewelry and furniture made for use but crafted with bold whimsy. Artist/owner WENDY WACKO has gathered a stable of premier Canadian artists and the quality shines throughout her collection. She herself favours plein air with results that are both dramatic and inspiring.
GAIL JOHNSON however paints in a variety of mediums all imbued with saturated colour forcing the viewer into
the depths she plumbs. Classically trained, she paints of the richness of surrounding mountains and coastline and an abundance of raw nature. Her interpretation of a bank of flaming fireweed spires backed by snow- capped peaks allows you an artistic glimpse from her atelier window. She paints what she sees but knows it intimately.
The contrasts so strongly depicted in KAREL DORUYTER’s canvases are quite a different vision. Moss-laden trees speak of the warm Pacific current that bathes the B.C. coastline as he captures both their immense size yet soft appearing exteriors. When tackling water, you feel the rush of waves returning again and again to shore as he shows natures flotsam battered repeatedly. Power comes in many shades to this artist who clearly understands the term diversity.
ARNT ARNTZEN re-functions objects to create contemporary furniture “that demands to be touched, sat on, dined upon and slept on....[and]....will withstand the test of time structurally as well as visually.” His eclectic pieces can easily fit in any home because uniqueness elevates their acceptance as sculpture first and functionality second.
CHARLIE EASTON, an inspiring artist inspired by the world around him, paints around the world and is represented just as widely. Preferring to work outside his studio, he tries to capture light, colour and movement in all pieces “inviting the viewer to come see the same striking views that enthrall [him] so much.” With oil or acrylic on canvas, he shows changing seasons in a lush crescendo of light and colour that mimic natures grandeur, be it a still lakeside, a mountain meadow or the setting sun reflected off a distant snowy peak.
ART JUNCTION is found in a soaring space filled with both two- and threedimensional imagery. Featured is ANNE GUDRUN, who captures nature as if viewed under a lens that pulls out colours most would not see but all can appreciate. Her large scale oil on canvases are filled with detail, each in such a vibrant palette that your mind turns inward as you selfpromise to look more closely at the next plant you stoop to admire. But watch out for a murder of crows swooping off the art of VIRGINIA IVANICKI, for if you turn too suddenly, you’ll find yourself in the midst of their acrobatic aerials.
Those with an admiration for traditionallymade contemporary art may be drawn to the art of CATHY HIGH. She combines photography with charcoal and pastel along with acrylics and ink to give new life to iconic totemic images. Soaring beyond self-imposed canvas constraints, as if sprung from nature, her palette echoes times past as much as it focuses on the future. Their unexpected opulence creates a stab of colour through her deft interpretations. Yet another artist with tradition-based work you’ll be drawn to is ceramicist PATRICK LEACH. His distinctive handcarved porcelains uniquely reprise the bold intricacy of native basketry patterns and pictographs. With jet black engobe overglaze minutely excised from atop pristine white porcelain forms, he creates one-of-a-kind pieces prized worldwide.
And who could overlook the inventive artistry of CHRISTINA NICK? Utilizing a variety of metals, she fashions schools of salmon that swim languidly across walls as easily as if contemplating their next up current run to spawn. When turning her eye to mammals you are transfixed by her simple forms and how much is said with minimal material. Running Hare, with its own shadow chasing close behind, illuminates this mastery of metalwork.
The thriving art scene of Whistler demonstrates the wide-ranging artistic variety Whistler is justifiably proud to display and promote. With hundreds of artists, just imagine what treasures you’ll find while journeying through Whistler’s art galleries.
Happy hunting and happier collecting!
AMAURY SAINT-GILLES (author/critic/collector): Early on, art gave him a focus that became a profession as art critic for the Mainichi Newspapers in Tokyo, Japan. Coupled with operating galleries since university, he never stops assessing work wherever he travels. Residing in Hawaii since 1990 and writing about art and life on his ranch keeps him busy completing a book of memoir short stories and the upcoming exhibition of his MINGEI (Japanese folk art) collection in Burnaby, BC in mid-2015.