In the new year, the Kelowna Art Gallery will present an exhibition of works by Edward Burtynsky and Emily Carr.
A Terrible Beauty: Edward Burtynsky in Dialogue with Emily Carr runs from January 11 to March 9, 2015.
Eighteen works by renowned Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky are paired with nine paintings by Emily Carr, who is a touchstone to so many people, art lovers and the general public alike. Both of these artists have explored the connection they have felt with the natural world and conveyed in their respective works.
With Burtynsky, we are given almost a mini retrospective, as the selection for the show begins with his first professional images, shot in the early 1980s in British Columbia. His marble quarry images from the early 1990s follow, and then come the super-famous bright red nickel mine tailings, shot near Sudbury, Ontario in the mid 1990s.
The exhibition contains some examples of Burtynsky’s work in China, and ends with a recent photograph of an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and an erosion control scene in Iceland. His works explore the human imprint on the planet and are startlingly beautiful despite their grim subject matter.
Emily Carr needs no introduction; she is one of Canada’s cultural heroes. Fighting against the repression of her own culture and going it alone as an artist, Emily Carr led a challenging and very difficult life. The selection of works for this show centre around her depictions of logging and gravel quarrying, both human incursions into the pristine rainforest environment that she so adored. Three of the paintings by Emily Carr have been borrowed from the collection of the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
An opening reception to celebrate this exhibition will be held on Friday, January 16, 2015, from 7 to 9 pm, at the Kelowna Art Gallery. This is a free event, open to Gallery members and guests, by invitation.
A Terrible Beauty: Edward Burtynsky in Dialogue with Emily Carr is organized and circulated by the Vancouver Art Gallery with the generous support of the Killy Foundation.
The Kelowna Art Gallery is located at 1315 Water Street in downtown Kelowna. For more information about current exhibitions, public programming or special events, please visit www.kelownaartgallery.com or call the Gallery at 250-762-2226.
