Bryan Faubert is exhibiting his work one last time in Nanaimo before leaving town to pursue his art education.
The artist, who moved to Nanaimo from Toronto five years ago, will spend the next two years in the University of Calgary’s master of fine arts program. Faubert said he’s looking forward to devoting all his time to developing his practice.
“It’s about producing work [and] getting critical feedback that I need in order to move ahead in my artistic career,” he said.
“Because right now I work in my studio and then I’m a contractor, so I’m working like 80 hours a week between the studio and my contracting work so I really feel like if I want to make a go at this career-wise I really need to focus all my time and energy just on art making.”
Faubert’s farewell retrospective, Out from Out of Here, is on display at the Nanaimo Arts Council until July 6. An opening reception is being held on Friday, June 15. The show will include drawings, paintings and sculptural work.
Faubert’s practice is based in graffiti and street art. At the show he’ll be silently auctioning work that until recently was displayed at the site of the Jean Burns building.
“I’m bringing all the work from all the different galleries into one space and trying to get rid of some of it before I move and make a few bucks for school as best I can. But that’s never really the intention behind making the work,” he said.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a ‘house cleaning,’ it’s more just having a show of what I’ve been making in Nanaimo before I leave. Because whatever doesn’t move I’m going to bring with me to Calgary.”
Most of the work in the exhibition is from after 2016, and looking back Faubert said he sees stylistic and aesthetic progress and a general refinement in his art. He said he’s put down “some pretty solid roots” in Nanaimo over the past five years and he plans to return to the Harbour City once he completes his MFA program.
Faubert said the opening reception could get a little emotional.
“I really love Nanaimo,” he said.
“I opened Studio 34 here and from there I started making great acquaintances with artists … met a really good crew of people out here that I respect and have done quite a bit of work with and it’s going to be sad to leave them.”
WHAT’S ON … Opening reception for Out from Out of Here by Bryan Faubert at the Nanaimo Arts Council, 78 Wharf St., on Friday, June 15 from 6 to 10 p.m. Exhibit runs until July 6.
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