The three young people who wandered up onto the Deer Lake Gallery lawn on Saturday night can be forgiven for asking, with casual curiosity: “Is this a house party?”
It wasn’t. It was the opening for Luminescence II.
But what with DJ BJAM (Ben Lee, by any other name) spinning the tunes and an assembled crowd dancing and jumping to the beat on Robert Turriff’s Pulse Quasar sculpture, it certainly wasn’t your average art opening.
Luminescence II follows last year’s successful show of two- and three-dimensional artworks celebrating light, held to mark the spring equinox. And, though this year’s opening didn’t attract the kind of crowd that last year’s did – when a thousand or more folks waited in two- and three-hour lineups just to get in the front door – it had an energetic vibe and a buzz of excitement all the same.
People of all ages packed the gallery and grounds over the course of the night for the celebrations, which included indoor entertainment by singer-songwriter Carolyn Neapole and an outdoor fire show by Lukas Knab of ACROfire Entertainment.
The gallery got out ahead of the possibility of crowds by offering early access – and Lumin martinis – to VIP pass holders. Volunteers were on hand all night to direct visitors to check out all aspects of the exhibition, which spreads to literally every part of the gallery.
The main 750-square-foot exhibition space is filled with a variety of paintings, photography and sculpture - some of which even allow visitors to interact with them (as in the case of Ross Hayduk’s creations, invitingly labelled “please touch”).
Visitors can also find art in less expected places – lining the hall and, yes, even in the washroom.
A small storage room in the back (home to last year’s infinity room by Ron Simmer) houses the much-talked-about installation All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace. The video-and-mirrors installation by the Hfour duo – Ben Z. Cooper and Stuart Ward – explores the duality of humanity’s relationship with technology in what can only be described as a trippy way, complete with a soundtrack that merges the engine sound of a Boeing B-29 Superfortress Bomber and Japanese monks chanting the sutra, “The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom.” Ward notes they had to keep the volume level down on the subwoofer lest they lift the roof right off the gallery. (A visitor’s tip: Should you check it out, be sure to stick your head all the way in to the viewing portals for full effect.)
Downstairs, it’s a psychedelic trip into the world of black light, courtesy of a basement room devoted to the works of the GlowMe group, plus a new “infinity box” (offering a seemingly endless trip into the depths) by Simmer.
The gallery has also not neglected its outdoor spaces. Out back, visitors can bask in the view over Deer Lake and wander an exhibition of sculpture, held in conjunction with the Canadian Clay Symposium at the neighbouring Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. Out front, there’s the striking new mural by the Optical Illusion Museum team (Jeff Cheung and Nick Gregson), the interactive Pulse Quasar, and a “chandelier” in the trees created from old bicycle parts by Bill Thomson and Michael Stefureak.
The gallery is also continuing with some interactive presentations on weekends. Artists will be on hand for discussions for three Saturdays throughout the show, all at 2 p.m.: Gregson and Cheung on March 25; Monica Gewurz on April 1; and Chris Taylor on April 8.
See www.burnabyartscouncil.org or drop by the gallery at 6584 Deer Lake Ave. to check it out. It will be open Tuesdays through Saturdays, noon to 4 p.m., with late-night openings on Friday (until 8 p.m.) to fully experience the fun of the light work outdoors.
