RODNEY GRAHAM FEVER - A TRIPLE HIT

If you like upside-down trees and artwork that is both conceptual and humourous, you can't miss Rodney Graham's triple Vancouver exhibition session this summer and fall.  His work will be featured at three esteemed locations; the Rennie Collection, UBC's Morris and Helen Belkin Gallery, and the Charles H Scott Gallery at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, who have teamed up for the project.

Rodney Graham, A Partial Overview of My Brief Modernist Career, 2006-2009 at the Rennie Collection

The first exhibition Rodney Graham: Collected Works began at the Rennie Collection, running from May 31- October 4.  In this show, Graham comments on the role of the artist as he attempts to reverse the professional versus amateur status associated with art.  The works here range from the early 1980's and onward, ranging from painting to light boxes to installations, with some being shown for the first time in Canada.

Rodney Graham, Torqued Chandelier Release, 2005

The second phase of the exhibition is currently featured at the Morris and Helen Belkin Gallery (from June 20-August 17), and the show is based on the Torqued Chandelier Release film Graham shot in 2005, featuring a spinning chandelier on a looped video.  The gallery will also use work from their own collection, including Vexation Island (1997) which was featured in the 1997 Venice Biennale, and Millenial Time Machine (2003) which is part of UBC's outdoor art collection.  The show will also feature Leaping Hermit (2011) and Cactus Fan (2013) which was shot in a UBC Chemistry lab.

Rodney Graham, The Gifted Amateur, 2007

Finally, the exhibition will wrap up at the Charles H. Scott Gallery at Emily Carr University for Art + Design from September 17 to November 16th, focusing on Graham's painting, including painted props for works like The Gifted Amateur, Lobbing Potatoes at a Gong, Pipe Cleaner Artist and My Late Early Styles.  There will also be new works by the artist in the show.

 If you are in Vancouver from now until November, be sure to check out one if not all of these shows!