The Art Shop Vancouver
November 9TH, 2020
The Art Shop Vancouver
Wood Paper Scissors: Raw Materials in Art
Many are familiar with the game Rock Paper Scissors but this week I took part in Wood Paper Scissors, a well curated pop-up exhibit held by The Art Shop in Vancouver. I had the pleasure of seeing the exhibit and having a personal tour with the exhibits' curator and founder of The Art Shop, Mariana Rivera.
Rock Paper Scissors is the second Pop Up exhibit of The Art Shop and featured 7 multidisciplinary and generational artists:
Rachael Ashe | Lydia Cecilia | Ben Evely | Susan Jessop | Aaron Moran | David Ullock | Kalvin Valko
The exhibit focused on materiality. According to Mariana, recognizing materiality is the first step towards building a true understanding of art in all its forms. This was seen across the works of the exhibit which featured art made from paper, wood, canvas and more. In addition, another thread that wove all these pieces together was the use of reusable materials. I was impressed by the quality, creativity and sustainable element of each piece.
For example, Lydia Cecilia's pieces were collages made from various materials and questioned issues of gender, sexuality and identity. Then there was Kalvin Valko's work that was made from canvas fabric. Yes, canvas fabric! Kalvin gathered canvas fabrics, dyed them and sewed the pieces back together to create one new piece. And there was Rachael Ashe who has a way with an Exacto knife resulting in beautiful intricate pieces of art from paper. Although the exhibit was small in size, what I saw and what I took away from it was grand! The exhibit made me think about the materials we use as artists to express ourselves and how much more we can do with it.
In addition, after speaking with Mariana, I have a good feeling that Vancouver is in for many more Pop Ups to come. Mariana started The Art Shop 7 months ago and has already curated 2 exhibits. She believes that local artists should be given the respect they deserve and her goal is to continue providing them with a space to share their work. Mariana's passion for art and determination to support local artists is uplifting. When she curates these exhibits, she truely dedicates herself to weaving different works together, making art accessible and educating her audience. In fact she views "curation as a moment of teaching" (Mariana). Thank you Mariana for teaching me something new that day. I look forward to learning more about local artists in weeks to come.
Written by: Liza Navarro
Photographed by: Liza Navaro @lizanav.photo
Featured artist: @lydiacecilia.art, @rachael_ashe, @benevely, @naturescardigan, @aaron.s.moran, David Ullock and @kalvinwvalko
Special thanks to Mariana @tasvancouver