LAST WEEK
CURRENT EXHIBITION
The Life of a Woodcutter
MATTHEW BALLANTYNE
JULY 10 - JULY 31, 2021
In The Life of a Woodcutter, Ballantyne has collected recent works which take local woodpeckers as a starting point. Expanding out from his practice as a birdwatcher, the inspiration from his wanderings and chance, as well as telegraphed encounters with woodpeckers have found their forms in photographs, sculptures, textiles, and video.
Interested in their capacity for destruction and their reputations as nuisances, Ballantyne notes the tension between the petty scapegoating of woodpeckers and the endless justifications of human-based ecological ruin. Much of the work uses overlooked material and photographic traces of these birds in our shared environment to meditate on what it means to find creative impetus, unlikely connections, and moments of transcendence in overlooked places. These places could be splintered piles of dry rot, beak-pocked siding, or emptied-out tree trunks.
Spanning histories of amateur naturalism, conceptual art, wildlife photography, and poetry, Ballantyne blends these dispirit but complementary interests to think through the myriad joys, mysteries and heartbreaks involved in sustained attention to a group of beings who, despite our shared material entanglements, can seem to get along just fine without us.
Interested in their capacity for destruction and their reputations as nuisances, Ballantyne notes the tension between the petty scapegoating of woodpeckers and the endless justifications of human-based ecological ruin. Much of the work uses overlooked material and photographic traces of these birds in our shared environment to meditate on what it means to find creative impetus, unlikely connections, and moments of transcendence in overlooked places. These places could be splintered piles of dry rot, beak-pocked siding, or emptied-out tree trunks.
Spanning histories of amateur naturalism, conceptual art, wildlife photography, and poetry, Ballantyne blends these dispirit but complementary interests to think through the myriad joys, mysteries and heartbreaks involved in sustained attention to a group of beings who, despite our shared material entanglements, can seem to get along just fine without us.
NEW WORKS | by TIKO KERR
Kriss Munsya
featured in the fiction column of the New Yorker
"Children of God"
by J.M. Holmes
In the New Yorker Print Edition of May 17, 2021
featured in the fiction column of the New Yorker
"Children of God"
by J.M. Holmes
In the New Yorker Print Edition of May 17, 2021
UPCOMING
NOVEMBER 2021
COMBINE: an art fair
CONVERSATION | COMMUNITY | CONVIVIALITY
A collaboration between Franc Gallery – Griffin Art Projects - Monica Reyes Gallery - Unit 17 – Wil Aballe Art Projects
Hosted by Griffin Art Projects Residency
in North Vancouver
The closure of national and international art fairs globally due to Covid-19, provides an opportunity to reconsider art economies and solidarities. This project features four young Vancouver galleries and finds within a collaborative model, ways to think together to imagine how such impacts can result in exploring the fissures and sites of opportunity that this unprecedented moment represents, to ask: How are we now working? What do proximities mean at this time? How do we express and experiment with the idea of collaboration as opposed to being in ‘competition’?
At this particular moment of COVID-19, within the Vancouver art ecosystem, there are many interdependent parts: artists, collectors, galleries, non-profits and institutions. All of them are relevant. We need each other to thrive to keep the ecosystem healthy. Galleries are important in the nurturing phase for artists, as well as the nurturing of young collectors. The four galleries featured in COMBINE art fair provide an access point for great new art that is being made on the West Coast while keeping the conversation going with the more seasoned collectors who want to continue learning about new voices in the local scene (and beyond).
COMBINE, held at Griffin Art Projects—an important collector-driven institution on the West Coast—is an event where galleries combine in support of collectors of contemporary art by coming together in the same space at the same time. At a moment when traveling to separate spaces to see work may be challenging, we offer a new collaborative experiment and model.
The long-term aim of this initiative and our work as collaborators, is to foster the development of confident collectors in the city, who use their own instincts and insights as they navigate the art works they encounter and acquire, and are aware of the importance of their patronage in supporting artists (and their galleries) in Vancouver. Although all galleries represent artists at every stage of their career, both artists and gallerists also benefit from such support at the early stages in their career. Ultimately, we are all here, collectors and galleries, to support artists who serve our community.
Griffin will host four progressive Vancouver gallerists onsite throughout the residency spaces in May 2021, for a collaborative venture. Wil Aballe Art Projects, Unit 17, Monica Reyes Gallery and Franc Gallery will work with Griffin to create an Art Fair, developed to support younger galleries who have been impacted by Covid-19 through the suspension of art fairs globally. The project also provides a ‘cross-fertilization’ with new audiences for all. Griffin will work with the galleries to promote the event and develop a safe onsite plan that follows COVID-19 protocols. The galleries will be located in the two studio areas while Griffin will curate an exhibition of gallery artists in the ‘bedroom’ space that will be transformed into a small gallery for this occasion. The overall project, which will be held in the residency area, is intended to create an exciting new alternative event that supports our local art community during these challenging times.
We look forward to sharing more information in the coming months leading to this ground braking event we are proud to be leading.
FEATURED ARTWORKS
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ABOUT THE GALLERY
Mónica Reyes Gallery (MRG) has been backing the growth and development of emerging and mid-career artists at its current location since 2013. Serving the local and international art scene, MRG promotes artist initiatives invested in shaping the economies of art and culture. Located in the heart of Strathcona, the gallery is uniquely positioned to create dialogues with the artists and cultural engineers who call the neighborhood home.
With a commitment to advancing the cultural capital of the city the gallery has since partnered with Pattison Art in Transit to present The Strathcona Billboard Project (2014). Additionally, the gallery served as the catalyst and headquarters for the Vancouver based artist collective A.K.A and hosted its first set of projects, Diffractions of the Local I & II. MRG has built connections both nationally and internationally, reaching new markets and influencing collectors, curators and artists. The gallery will extend its influence by being represented at art fairs in Canada and USA having participated in dozens since its beginning.
Founder and director Mónica Reyes has been a longstanding figure in the Vancouver art scene having served as Vice President of the Contemporary Art Society of Vancouver and the Board of Latincouver. Today she sits on the Board of the Strathcona Board Improvement Assosiation. Reyes is committed to investing in art that gives voice to the cultural diversity of the Pacific Northwest.
MRG's regular exhibition program and special events provide artists with opportunities for artists to show work that includes range of practices from more traditional forms of painting, sculpture and photography to experimental video, durational performance, spatial interventions, installation and poetry.
NEWS FEED
CONTACT US
opening hours: mondays and tuesdays 11am-2pm; saturdays 12-4pm; and by appointment
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602 E Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC V6A 1R1
T. 604.339.2096
www.monicareyesgallery.com
mr@monicareyesgallery.com