Artist Reception jamie griffiths

SEED

Please join us at the Vivarium Gallery
November 14th 2009 from 6-9pm
2130 Yew Street, Vancouver, BC, V6K 3G7
The exhibit hangs in the Vivarium from Nov 14 to Dec 9 2009

jamie griffiths is a Photographer, Experimental Film-maker & Interactive Visual Music artist. Her photographic work has been exhibited & published internationally since 1992.
Lifelong explorations of visual creativity mesh with a love of technology, combining projected media with performance commissions for orchestra, new music, opera, dance and theatre projects.
She creates her new media performance works under the name Primal Divine, collaborating internationally with composers, choreographers and computer visualization artists.
jamiegriffiths.com

At the Vivarium this month are two photographic works from jamie's SEED series, with accompanying video.
Bill's Seed 22x30 Giclee (framed to 28x36)
Mustard Seed 22x30 Giclee (framed to 28x36)

'Mustard Seed' addresses success and failure, of striving to grow, of new life and of death. It references christian parables on the nature of spilling forth. It speaks to the Quantum realm of existence & addresses my fascination with the power of intention, and how our thoughts become manifest in the world... Every action carries a consequence. Every moment seeds the next moment. The arm appears lifeless. Who lifts the arm?"


'Bill's Seed' is inspired by the Bill Reid carving in the Rotunda at the Museum of Anthropology, which tells part of the Haida peoples human creation myth. If you look carefully you can see the form of First Man emerging upside down from a shell, and his hand reaching up to steady himself as her pulls himself out. Disintegration and struggle have already set in, even from this moment of the 'birth' of a species. Tree seeds cut through the body of this first human and of the shell, as the cycle of human life, death and rebirth begins."

CHRISTOPHER RODRIGUES: Still Life

October 10th, 2009- November 9th, 2009
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 10th, 6-9
VIVARIUM GALLERY: 2130 Yew Street, Vancouver

http://www.christopherrodrigues.com

Please join us at the VIVARIUM GALLERY for a reception party for Christopher Rodrigues, Saturday, October 10th from 6-9. On display until November 9th are the artist proofs of Still Life 01 & Still Life 04 as well as a Personal Altar.

The digital Cibachrome prints, sourcing still life flower paintings from the Dutch Golden Age, were first publicly exhibited in March 2009 at the SCOPE Art Fair in New York.

Christopher's Personal Altar aims to gain a deeper understanding of the old tradition of Still Life in Contemporary Art, through the practice of altar making. Altar making is a common tradition that bridges all religions. Beyond organized religion, personal Altars can be found in many house-holds around the world.

This summer the Vancouver audience was given the opportunity to learn about and examine the Dutch Golden Age of painting, in a beautiful curated exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery. This exhibition extended many peoples understanding of the visual language of Still Life, a language that is necessary to interpret Christopher's work.

"Christopher uses the computer & Photoshop as his artistic mediums in three ongoing series of works -- Planets, Islands, Still Lifes -- that examine the relationship between Nature & Technology as well as photography & painting. Employing techniques that resemble collage & painting, he absents the camera from the process of creating his photographs. The results, printed as Cibachromes & face-mounted to Plexiglas, are both hyper-real and fantastical, connecting to traditional notions of the still life and landscape while looking forward to a digitally enhanced universe." - RARE Gallery, 2009, New York

thank you Lucy for all your love

Triggered by the sad, premature loss to lymphoma cancer of Lucy, our super-dog and Vivarium Border Collie mascot, the window will be turned over to public ritual from Thursday Oct 1st to Thursday Oct 8th 2009.
With a centerpiece ritual altar for Lucy, family, friends and artists associated with the Vivarium as well as the general public passing by, are invited to witness and contribute to a public ritual remembrance window as a free-form expression of creativity to honor Lucy and those who have passed on from among us.
You taught us so much without words or ego. Thank you Lulu-Pantalones! xxxxx

TONI LATOUR: 'More or Less'

August 8th, 2009- September 30th, 2009
Opening reception Saturday, August 8th, 6-9
VIVARIUM GALLERY
2130 Yew Street, Vancouver

http://www.ufv.ca/visualarts/faculty/latourt/

'More or Less' is comprised of two pieces, Red Dot and Top 20.

Red Dot is made up of hundreds of red dots, commonly used in commercial galleries to denote the sale of an artwork. This piece examines the economy of exchange that can sometimes dominate the art world, creating markets that are used to determine levels of "success".


In an attempt to expose and disrupt patriarchy in the local art world, Top 20 lists some of the most prominent artists in Vancouver, all of whom are male. Together, these pieces examine the contemporary Canadian art landscape, and consequently, Latour's place in it.


Working in a variety of disciplines, the content of Toni Latour's practice focuses on her identification as an artist and her relationship to various communities. Several projects have incorporated factions of Vancouver's queer community, of which she is a part, in an effort to increase visibility. Other projects have been born from her participation in Canadian art communities, making reference to other artists and her position within the contemporary art landscape.

Using humour as a strategy, much of Toni's work deals with the drives, desires and anxieties bound up in her own art production. Often depicting the carnivalesque quality of the artist/performer, her work seeks to be both deprecatingly funny and poignantly honest. It describes the self and social scrutiny that go hand in hand with keeping up in the fast paced worlds of art. It also depicts many of the coping mechanisms that accompany such scrutiny. Subjects include staying motivated, maintaining appearances and honing survival skills. From pep talks to public posturing, her practice encompasses both the excitement and apprehension that surround contemporary art making today.

To see more of Toni's work this summer, please visit the Burnaby Art Gallery, where she is part of the group show 'I:Dent - Constructing and Deconstructing Personal and Social Identities', running July 28 - September 6, 2009.

MystiQ

‘MystiQ’
Rob Scharein & jamie griffiths
a 3D video installation
JULY 11th to August 7th 2009
Dusk to Midnight, daily.
Opening reception Sat July 11th 2009 8-12pm
2130 Yew St, Vancouver, BC, V6K 3G7


A 3D video installation experienced from the sidewalk.
Custom software & 3D graphics by Rob Scharein, with 800 year old texts and additional visual imagery & photographs by jamie griffiths.

We live in 3 dimensional bodies and yet operate in a world of thoughts, dreams and multi-dimensional realities. Conscious acts of engagement in the world effect the Quantum ‘Field’ that we inhabit. As bodies, minds and spirits we are only aware of the tiniest relevances of our lives to the grand picture. The ripples, waves and thought patterns extrapolate outwards and inwards as part of the never-ending, never-beginning matrix of life and energy. Some may call this Quantum Field “God”.

With a background as a physicist & astronomer, Rob Scharein swims daily in the magic of 3D worlds as a Research Fellow in the Department of Mathematics at San Francisco State University. His websites are found at knotplot.com & hypnagogic.net

jamie griffiths is a visual artist and filmmaker. She has been seeking in the Quantum Field since 2001, on a quest to find ‘G-dde’ in her everyday life and art and uses interactive technology in live performance films and installations. She is also currently a researcher in Digital Video Illumination at the Univ.of BC.

In ‘MystiQ’, the Quantum Field is visually referenced by mathematical collisions of 3D strings and nodes, forming a continuous matrix of 3D ‘life’ inside the Vivarium Gallery window... attaching & releasing... dragging and being pulled around in the matrix. From a chaotic beginning, order emerges as symmetries hidden in the connections between players in the chaos game are revealed. As they collide they grab visual objects such as photographs and 800 year old texts, which are disassembled in the matrix and become 3 dimensional slow moving objects for the passer-by to read and decipher.

The words of mystics are presented but the reader must reassemble them into their original meanings, as an enforced journey of seeking. The implication here is that the words exist, whether we see them or not, and the wisdom and meanings within the words existed even before they were written.



This forced theme of seeking meaning in the words, is connected to other words hidden in the video installation, on themes of Love, Art and Work... three mainstays of an artists life.

The video installation for the Vivarium will continue to grow as Rob & jamie add words, images and graphics throughout the month. Mathematical algorithms will ensure that the order that images and matrices appear will never be seen the same way twice.

The viewing participant is pulled... down the rabbit hole and into the (Quantum) looking glass...

Hui Lin Liu: Painting Experiments

June 6, 2009- July 10, 2009
Reception Party: Saturday, June 6, 6 - 9

Please join us at the VIVARIUM GALLERY for a reception party for Richmond-based abstract painter Hui Lin Liu, Saturday, June 6th from 6-9. On display from June 6th to July 10th is Eruption, a 80" X 60" painting from her Painting Experiment series.

www.huilinliu.com

Hui Lin Liu is a Richmond-based abstract painter whose work encompasses years of experimentation in a wide range of media, including urethane, acrylic, watercolour and enamel. Her work reflects a deep curiosity about the magic of nature as it manifests everything from the microscopic to the cosmic. The vibrant colours, creative textures and overall composition of her art is thus inspired by the diversity of the natural world at all levels.

Hui Lin’s painting process incorporates a unique combination of spontaneity and control. Her technique of pouring and stirring allows a certain amount of the painting to create itself – the different media react with one another in unpredictable ways, so that chance plays a prominent role in her work. She incorporates a level of meticulous precision with detailed brushwork that serves to unify the layers of paints.

The six miniature collage paintings on display represent Hui Lin’s most current projects. As with her previous poured paintings, these pieces reflect a magnificent blend of chance and intention. She first creates large poured art pieces that are then cut up and arranged into vibrant new compositions – tiny worlds imbued with a history that reveals a depth of colour and dynamic interactions.

On display at the Vivarium Gallery is a piece entitled Eruption (2006, 60" x 80"), as well as six miniatures. Eruption is a mixed media piece that exemplifies Hui Lin's painting experiments. This piece represents the creative energy found both within oneself and in the natural world. There are undercurrents that eventually surface and explode in myriad ways. The artist’s expressive pathways reveal themselves both in her creative process and in the landscape of the
final work.

Christopher Rodrigues: Planet 11

May 9, 2009- June 5, 2009
Reception Party: Saturday, May 9, 6-9

On display at the VIVARIUM GALLERY from May 9th to June 5th is Planet 11; a 40" X 50" digital cibachrome print by Christopher Rodrigues. This planet is the most recent image from his exploration of contemporary landscape and was exhibited for the first time this March at SCOPE Art Fair in New York, represented by RARE Gallery.

christopherrodrigues.com

Christopher uses the computer and Photoshop as his artistic mediums in three ongoing series of works -- Planets, Islands, Still Lifes -- that examine the relationship between Nature and Technology as well as photography and painting. Employing techniques that resemble collage and painting, he absents the camera from the process of creating his photographs. The results, printed as Cibachromes backed with aluminum and faced with plexi, are both hyper-real and fantastical, connecting to traditional notions of the still life and landscape while looking forward to a digitally enhanced universe. Each of the three series is produced in a limited edition of seven.

The VIVARIUM GALLERY rests in the affluent neighborhood of Kitsilano in Vancouver and was co-founded by Jamie Griffiths and Christopher Rodrigues. The gallery is being developed as an online gallery, with a 'real' ground level window space to hang 2D visual art, present 3D art objects and with a 12x12ft rear projection screen for video projection installations. We have a monthly rotation of Artists exhibiting at the gallery, which are archived and can be sold online even after the exhibition closes.