As spring light returns to a world of winter darkness, artists are joining forces to illuminate the night.
Deer Lake Gallery is marking the spring equinox with Luminescence II, the followup to last year’s hit show. It opens with a special evening celebration on Saturday, March 18.
The gallery is readying for a major event after last year’s opening, which saw an unexpected couple of thousand visitors wait in a long lineup along Deer Lake Parkway for their chance to check out the exhibition of two- and three-dimensional artwork celebrating light.
The inaugural exhibition, and in particular an infinity room installation by artist Ron Simmer, created a massive social media buzz and drew visitors who had never before paid a call on the Burnaby Arts Council’s small, typically low-key gallery.
That unprecedented success gave the arts council pause when considering a repeat exhibition this spring.
“If you do another Luminescence, the biggest fear is, is it going to be as successful?” said Teena Martin, the arts council’s executive director.
Any trepidation she had, however, was easily put to rest by the response from artists. Typically, Deer Lake Gallery hasn’t had professional Vancouver-based artists knocking on the door. For Luminescence, however, the response has been different.
“These guys are coming to us,” Martin said. “I was approached long before I even did the call on this.”
Her challenge wasn’t finding enough artists to create a second show; it was finding enough space to hold all the work they were proposing.
The 750-square-foot gallery space will be used to its fullest – artist Grant Withers will even be doing an installation in the fireplace.
“We’re using every possible space you can think of,” Martin said with a laugh.
The small former storage room in the back, which housed Simmer’s infinity room last time out, will hold a 3-D installation by the professional art team Hfour – a.k.a. Ben Z. Cooper and Stuart Ward – which creates an infinite landscape using a video monitor and mirrors.
“They are professionals in lighting; you won’t be disappointed,” Martin promised.
Outside, the mural artists of the Optical Illusion Museum will be creating a three-dimensional-effect mural along the front wall.
“They would take over the entire building if they could,” Martin said with a laugh.
Also outside will be an installation by Vancouver artist Robert Turriff.
“Now that was a find,” Martin said, noting there was some serendipity involved in Turriff’s participation. The artist had been at the gallery for the Kukwits’men exhibition earlier this year, through a personal connection to artist Zee Kwakwee Baker, and was intrigued enough to want to take part in Luminescence.
Turriff will bring his light work Pulse Quasar, an interactive sculpture that responds to viewers by lighting up in response to their movements as they jump, dance and walk on a pad below.
Indoors, there will be a huge variety of work that reflects the theme of the show.
“There’s a variety of ways you can interpret light – in painting, in backlit artwork, in photography – and we have all that,” Martin said.
In all, more than 30 artists are taking part, and this year’s works will extend the Luminescence theme even beyond the boundaries of the original show.
“I’m just so impressed with the evolution of this exhibition and the experimental, using light in its many forms,” Martin said.
Beyond the artwork, the arts council is going all-out to create a true opening night event.
DJ BJAM (Ben Lee, by any other name) will be on hand for the evening’s festivities – and, as it happens, he also has work in the exhibition. Singer-songwriter Carolyn Neapole, whose work has been compared to such icons as Sarah McLachlan and Jann Arden, will also entertain for the festivities. And, at 8 p.m., audiences can catch a live performance by ACROfire Entertainment, as Lukas Knab combines fire props, martial arts and acrobatics.
For Martin, the buzz surrounding Luminescence II isn’t just about the exhibition itself. It’s part of an evolution in the city’s arts scene.
“There definitely is some movement in Burnaby in the arts scene. … If you compare us five years ago to now, there has been such a shift,” she said, noting that she now regularly gets 60 to 70 applications for the 11 exhibition spots she has available year-round.
“We’re trying to build the arts here. We have an opportunity to show some really great art.”
With so much building and development going on in the city, Martin hopes to see the corporate and business community also recognize the importance of arts and join in to help promote it.
“If you have a vital arts community, it draws people,” she said. “I’m hoping that this will be part of that.”
CHECK IT OUT
WHAT: Luminescence II, an exhibition of two- and three-dimensional artworks celebrating light, to mark the spring equinox.
WHERE: Deer Lake Gallery, 6584 Deer Lake Ave.
WHEN: March 18 to April 8. Opening night Saturday, March 18 at 7 p.m., with VIP access at 6 p.m. Opening night entertainment by DJ BJAM, singer-songwriter Carolyn Neapole, and a live fire performance by ACROfire entertainment at 8 p.m. Closing night festivities April 8, 7 to 9 p.m.
HOURS: Tuesday to Thursday, plus Saturday, from noon to 4p.m. Fridays from noon to 8 p.m.
COST: Free. VIP passes for opening night (limited quantity) for $25.
INFO: www.burnabyartscouncil.org or call 604-298-7322
