Cornish Faculty Sabbatical Exhibit & U DISTRICT: Technicolour Wonderland

It's 3rd Friday Art Walk night in the U District, but first! Two of my favourite professors from Cornish days of yore are having a dual exhibition!

Preston Wadley kicked my ass in the most supportive and inspiring of ways in both photography and drawing classes during college. Tonight he's unveiling a two new series of photographs: portraits featuring the cloaked countenances of some of the characters who haunt the Cornish College of the Arts campus, and a fascinating set of graphics and textures intermingled with bits of humanity and pieces of nature. Also displayed are a couple of photographs encased in objects, a technique that lends a sort of tangible permanence to feelings of nostalgia.

Preston Wadley @ Cornish

Robert Campbell is one of the most patient and knowledgeable humans I have ever met. I had the fortune to have him as my video and Photoshop instructor, and this eve he's created a series of videoscapes, collages of imagery and movement that subtly shift as you watch them. I captured a few stills to portray their transformation over a handful of minutes. I wasn't able to see much of his extended video piece, since the small room was packed, but I'll be back later this month for a longer look.

Robert Campbell @ Cornish

It was fantastic to catch up with Preston and Bob and a whole host of other Cornish faculty, students and alumni, but it's on to the U District art walk! I arrive toward the end of the evening, so I only have the chance to catch a couple shows, but BC Surf + Sport and Gargoyles have excellent work, as always.

BC Surf is hosting a colourful collection of work by artists Ian Block, Shogo, and Raine Frederickson. The colours and textures are playful, and the imagery is an entertaining mix of pop culture parodies, intricate monsters, and technicolour comics.

BC Surf + Sport

Just up the street, Gargoyles is hosting "Marvels of the Muse" brand new work by Jeffrey Shaw. Jeffrey playfully pairs elements of Alice in Wonderland (the March Hare makes a couple of appearances) with symbols and deities from Egyptian mythology. Included are paintings, giclee prints on brushed steel, and what appears to be a candy-coated coterie of sculpted scarabs and creatures from the sea.

Jeff Shaw @ Gargoyles

Until next time, U District...

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