What: A Mixed B.A.G.
Where: Brackendale Art Gallery
When: Running until June 13
Bells, bowls, pears, Geishas and chain mail.
It’s not an obscure Kurt Vonnegut reference. The current exhibit at the Brackendale Art Gallery (the exhibit title refers to the venue’s initials) literally displays all of the above.
Archly elegant Geisha paintings by Vancouver’s Dakota Hamilton, warm turned wood creations by Martin Thorne of Squamish, stone sculptures depicting gigantic pieces of fruit by Brackendale’s James Pereira, intricate hand-made chain mail creations by Acorn, also of Brackendale – in theory it’s a yard sale. In Brackendale there is an uncanny order.
Acorn’s Medieval pieces fit perfectly with Thorne’s wooden grails. Hamilton’s use of metallic leaf ties into Acorn’s chain mail. At the same time Hamilton’s Asian theme flows beautifully into Thorne’s calm Bonsai-like pieces.
Thorne’s simple yellow cedar pears fit in the palm of the hand, miniature versions of Pereira’s surreal pieces across the room. One of Thorne’s pears held up to the eye in deliberate perspective skewing proximity a la the Kids in the Hall’s Head Crusher makes it equal to Pereira’s massive creations.
Gallery owner Thor Froslev’s sturdy handcrafted bells anchor the exhibit.
Open since 1973, Froslev developed the gallery/theatre/teahouse and chapel as a reaction to the insular Vancouver gallery scene. The spirit of those times persists: the warm wooden interior lends itself to eclectic fare and the current exhibit emphasizes what can happen when convention is thrown to the wind.
A Mixed B.A.G. will be on display until June 13. The gallery is open weekends and statutory holidays.
For more information on the gallery go to www.brackendaleartgallery.com.
