{"id":24247,"date":"2017-05-12T03:58:59","date_gmt":"2017-05-12T10:58:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=24247"},"modified":"2017-05-09T14:17:39","modified_gmt":"2017-05-09T21:17:39","slug":"diverse-selection-of-artwork","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2017\/05\/12\/diverse-selection-of-artwork\/","title":{"rendered":"Diverse selection of artwork"},"content":{"rendered":"

Johanan Herson is coming from Israel to Art! Vancouver. (photo from Johanan Herson)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am very much looking forward to seeing all the new artwork coming from around the world,\u201d Lisa Wolfin told the Independent<\/em>. \u201cWe have some giant heads coming from Miami, some art made out of spider webs, metal sculptures and some really crazy stuff \u2013 can\u2019t wait to see it all together under one roof.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wolfin is the founder and director of Art! Vancouver, which this year takes place May 25-28 at Vancouver Convention Centre-East. She is also an artist herself and will be bringing recent work to the fair.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past year,\u201d she said, \u201cI have contemplated what to make for the show that is new and unique and have come up with my new series called I Feel. It is a portrait series made from different materials: oil on canvas, mixed media on wood panel, and photography.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her current work is contemporary, she said. \u201cWhat I have found in the many art fairs that I have attended is that artists are using recycled materials and making them into creative art forms. My newest series is made out of my kids\u2019 things they used when they were young. Sometimes, it feels like I am back in kindergarten being free to just play with materials, not thinking what you are trying to make out of it, just doing. Who doesn\u2019t want to be a kid again?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo
\u201cGolden Hour,\u201d acrylic on canvas, by Michael Abelman, one of several Jewish artists whose work is part of Art! Vancouver, which runs May 25-28. (photo from Art! Vancouver)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As more people have become aware of the art fair \u2013 this is its third year \u2013 inquiries have come from around the world, said Wolfin. And CBC Arts\u2019 Amanda Parris \u201cis flying out from Toronto to host the show and speak in a panel talk on Saturday at 3 p.m. Joining Amanda on the panel is Barrie Mowatt, who presently runs the Vancouver Biennale.\u201d<\/p>\n

Art! Vancouver opens on May 25, 7 p.m., said Wolfin, with \u201cThe Face of Art, where the artists walk down the runway carrying their artwork, so the attendees can put a face to the art to know who the artist is. People are curious as to who are the makers of the art \u2013 at this show, the artists are mostly in attendance, where people can come to meet them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among those artists are several from the Jewish community, including Wolfin. Also presenting their work will be Johanan Herson, who is coming to the fair from Israel, and local artists Michael Abelman, Lauren Morris, Taisha Teal Wayrynen and Skyla Wayrynen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will be showing mostly the soft art, textile art, but will have some of the sculpture works and acrylic paintings as well,\u201d Herson told the Independent<\/em> about what he\u2019s bringing with him. \u201cLe Soleil Gallery [on Howe Street] is showing the full range of my work and will continue after the fair to handle my artwork.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herson said he\u2019s been to Vancouver a couple of times before, when he was a student at Banff School of Fine arts. He is originally from Montreal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in Montreal and visited Israel on various occasions before making aliyah,\u201d he said. \u201cIn fact, I had come to study at the Bezalel Academy just after the Six Day War and hated it. I traveled the world before coming back to Montreal and the Canadian sense of pluralism and diversity. I came back later [to Israel] to understand the meaning of my Jewishness and fell in love with an Israeli woman, of a 10-generation family, and find myself part of this dynamic society.\u201d<\/p>\n

In terms of his artwork, Herson said, \u201cI know that my soft art is a product of being at the right time and the right place, where this technique evolved, and I did look into the possibility of doing it in Quebec, but \u2026 the soft art is definitely an Israel discovery and development.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Canadian identity is one of respect for everyone, the celebration of diversity and acceptance of the other, and I cherish my Canadian roots and heritage and am proud of my citizenship. My work in Israel and my Jewish identity has always been part of who I am wherever I am and was part of who I am as a Canadian and an Israeli. I hope that my commitment to making the world a better place for everyone would have guided me if I had never left Canada, although perhaps the intensity of living and creating in the Middle East has challenges that are unique to Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe in the good in humanity,\u201d he continued, \u201cand have always sought to defend the less-privileged and suffering \u2026 whether they are in Montreal, Tel Aviv, Ramallah or Africa, and seek global communication as a platform to making the world a healthier and safer place of love, respect and opportunity for a better life for everyone. I do so as a Canadian Jewish Israeli artist.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo
“Welcome to my World,” latex on canvas, by Skyla Wayrynen. (photo from Art! Vancouver)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He gave the example of an exhibit of his work that just closed at the University in Minnesota. The exhibit, he said, was \u201cpart of encouraging dialogue between the Jewish student and Islamic student bodies. The message is that we must pray and work for a better world, that tikkun olam is to wake up every day and say that the world has been created for me alone, and that I must make it a better place for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teal Wayrynen is working toward a similar goal \u2013 making the world a better place \u2013 in a different way.<\/p>\n

\u201cI received my associates degree in psychology from Capilano University and am graduating this year with my bachelor\u2019s degree from Simon Fraser University,\u201d she told the Independent<\/em>. \u201cI will then combine my art with my counseling and do a master\u2019s program for art therapy after I travel for half a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

At last year\u2019s Art! Vancouver, Teal Wayrynen featured her Pop Icon collection. This year, she said she is \u201cexperimenting with charcoal and acrylic paint and drawing female bodies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right now, her favourite medium is acrylic paint mixed with spray paint, she said. \u201cI just started to mix mediums and use molding paste, acrylic paint and charcoal on top,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Morris has also been delving into new methods and media.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have continued predominantly working on flowers, however, I have introduced a new colour palette, as well as more abstraction within my floral pieces,\u201d she told the Independent<\/em>. \u201cI\u2019ve also continued with my free, fluid style and introduced some abstract landscapes using the new colours. My inspiration comes from the beautiful flowers that seem to surround me every day. Every season brings on something new and I am inspired by their shapes and colours.\u201d<\/p>\n

She has been working on a new series for Art! Vancouver, Morris said, \u201cexperimenting with a couple of new techniques and colours. They will be mainly florals and will all coordinate in style so that there is consistency within my pieces. I work predominantly in acrylic.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added, \u201cI am hoping that my growth as an artist is shown in my new pieces and that my work continues to evoke my viewers\u2019 emotions through visual imagery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Art! Vancouver opens May 25 at the convention centre with a VIP preview at 6 p.m. and the gala at 7 p.m. The show runs May 26-27, noon to 8 p.m., and May 28, noon to 5 p.m. A one-day pass is $15 (online) or $25 (at the door); $8 for children under the age of 14. A multi-day pass is $40 and a VIP pass is $100. Tickets to the opening gala are $30. Visit artvancouver.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Johanan Herson is coming from Israel to Art! Vancouver. (photo from Johanan Herson) \u201cI am very much looking forward to seeing all the new artwork coming from around the world,\u201d Lisa Wolfin told the Independent. \u201cWe have some giant heads coming from Miami, some art made out of spider webs, metal sculptures and some really […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[989],"tags":[7047,7048,3522,7049,251,7051,7050],"class_list":["post-24247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-visual-arts","tag-art-vancouver","tag-johanan-herson","tag-lauren-morris","tag-lisa-wolfin","tag-michael-abelman","tag-skyla-wayrynen","tag-taisha-teal-wayrynen"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}