When we go in to Vancouver Alan and I like to make sure we do more than one errand. On Friday, a week ago, we certainly did that. Raider Renée van Halm’s show at Equinox Gallery was due to close on the Saturday so this was our last chance to see it. I’d seen some of the paintings online but really wanted to see them in person. Plus, we hadn’t found the new Equinox Gallery location since their move from next to Emily Carr UAD, due to Skytrain building.
We took a walk around Trout Lake, seeing it was a sunshiny day, before finding the gallery, just a couple of blocks away, on Commercial street. It’s a fine big space and we wandered all through, looking at four different exhibits.
Renée’s paintings are quite spectacular. She is a perfectionist when it comes to technique, but the effect from her carefully planned lines and shapes is incredible. I apologize for not making a note of each title, so just enjoy the colours and forms she has chosen to put together.
Of course I was interested to see which of her recent ceramic forms she had included in this show. These two voluptuous pieces are a happy surprise with their soft shapes and wiggly coloured surfaces.
After admiring Renée’s work we wandered back to see the other shows. Recent ECUAD graduate Magee Day’s first show here was just being installed. These wildly colourful paintings are abstracted interpretations of views from her Vancouver studio and home.
Next we were blown away once more by the truly beautiful paintings by the late North Vancouver painter Gordon Smith. Almost abstract, his paintings record his passion for our environment.
Finally we found a gallery of fascinating historical photographs by famous Vancouver photographer Fred Herzog. I particularly liked this one of umpteen signs photographed at Hastings and Carrall streets in 1968, the year I arrived in Vancouver.
I see from their website that new shows have opened at Equinox Gallery. Now that we’ve found it I hope we can stop there again soon.
Our Vancouver day continued with a splendid Springtime walk around Queen Elizabeth Park where our son Mike, who lives nearby, joined us for a while. In the evening we attended a musical performance by The Lawless Firm, Michael and Eleanore Dunn and friends in Aperture coffee shop on Main street. We had a wonderful day.
Sounds like an absolutely wonderful day, Gillian. Thanks for sharing it, Dianne.