For 2012 exhibition listings click the above heading
These guidelines are for artists wishing to exhibit in the Comox Valley Art Gallery:
DEADLINE: January 31 of each year for the following exhibition year for the The Contemporary Gallery which is programmed at least one year in advance. CVAG accepts artist proposals throughout the year and does not have a deadline for submissions for the other exhibit spaces.

Click here for Calls For Entry, Submission Guidelines, Gallery Floor Plans and Sample Contract

Please Note: Prior to 2012 the 'Contemporary Gallery' was named the 'Public Gallery' and the 'Community Gallery' was the 'Arts & Craft Gallery'


Robert Bateman

Raft of Otters (detail), acrylic on board
Public Gallery and Arts & Craft Gallery

THE ART OF ROBERT BATEMAN
- ORIGINAL ARTWORKS

Robert Bateman (Salt Spring Island, BC)
Original Paintings

January 15 to February 26, 2011
Opening Reception Friday January 14th
from 7:30 to 9pm


Robert Bateman Art Talk
This event is sold out
Friday, January 14th, doors open at 5:30pm, Art Talk 6:00 to 7:00pm. Tickets $10.00 each, available at the CVAG Gift Shop
Born in Toronto, with a degree in geography from the University of Toronto, Bateman taught high school for 20 years, including two years in Nigeria. He traveled around the world in a Land Rover in 1957/58, increasing his appreciation of cultural and natural heritage. Since leaving teaching in 1976 to paint full-time, he has traveled widely with his artist/conservationist wife Birgit to many remote natural areas.

Bateman's art reflects his commitment to ecology and preservation. Since the early 1960's, he has been an active member of naturalist and conservation organizations, now on a global scale. He has become a spokesman for many environmental and preservation issues and has used his artwork and limited edition prints in fund-raising efforts that have provided millions of dollars for these worthy causes. He says, "I can't conceive of anything being more varied and rich and handsome than the planet Earth. And its crowning beauty is the natural world. I want to soak it up, to understand it as well as I can, and to absorb it… and then I'd like to put it together and express it in my painting. This is the way I want to dedicate my life."
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Robin de Lavis, Balance

Teresa L’Hirondelle, Herring Gulls
Public Gallery and Arts & Craft Gallery

2011 CVAG MEMBERS SHOW

Open Call Group Exhibition

March 5 to April 15, 2011
Opening Reception Friday March 4th
from 7 to 9pm


The juried awards ceremony will take place on March 4th at 8pm, during the Opening Reception.

Award Recipients Selected by 2011 Jury
(pdf file)
This fundraising exhibition features the creativity and diversity of artwork by the CVAG community. 

All genres of visual arts will be exhibited . . . examples are drawings, paintings, prints, multi-media, mixed media, sculpture, ceramics, photography, and fibre arts. 

All artworks are for sale with a portion of the proceeds going to the gallery to support programming.
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ECU/NIC BFA Grads - Dimensions Variable

Public Gallery

DIMENSIONS VARIABLE

Emily Carr University at North Island College External BFA Grads Exhibition

April 23 - June 4, 2011
Opening Reception Saturday April 23rd
from 7 to 10pm

ART TALK: Emily Carr University/
North Island College BFA Grads
Thursday May 12, 2011
7 to 8:30pm
Admission is by donation,
suggested $2-5pp
This is the most anticipated and well attended contemporary exhibit of our calendar year. 

Students graduating from this program present exploratory and experimental works in a variety of media that challenge and intrigue our viewers.

CVAG recognizes the importance of fostering the art practices of young and emerging talent.

This year's grads are:
Maddy Elia, Catherine Lavelle, Anne Palmer, Sareh Puetz, Deborah Sears, Sarah Stein and Leaitta Thompson
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Comox Valley Living City Challenge


George Sawchuk Gallery

COMOX VALLEY LIVING CITY CHALLENGE

Jay Dahlgren, Tom Dishlevoy,
William Marsh, Alison Mewett

April 23 - June 4, 2011
Opening Reception Saturday April 23rd
from 7 to 10pm

ART TALKS: Wednesday in May
May 4, 11, 18 & 25 from Noon to 1pm
"What if every single act of design and construction made the world a better place."

A group from the Comox Valley design, engineering and urban planning community has successfully planned and designed a model of sustainable living for the valley.

The end result is rooted in solid ecological and architectural principles.

CV Living City Challenge on Facebook
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Ramona Gregory

Ramona Gregory, Dimpled Teapot
Arts & Craft Gallery

DIMPLED CREATURES FROM UNKNOWN PLACES

RAMONA GREGORY (Merville, BC)
Ceramics and paintings

April 23 - May 31, 2011
Opening Reception Saturday April 23rd
from 7 to 10pm

MEET & GREET: Ramona Gregory
Saturday May 14, 2011
2 to 3pm
This show features ceramic forms  and paintings based on shapes from nature’s flora, fauna and ponderings of science and technology.  The artist maintains a belief in things unknown and undiscovered – the strangeness and perfection of nature’s spectacles fuel her curiosity. 

Ramona has been working with ceramics since studying at Emily Carr Institute in 2001.  She completed her BFA there in 2005 and has been dedicated to her practice ever since.  She established Elementerra Art Studio in the Comox Valley after studying in Vancouver and travelling abroad.
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Bev Byerley

Bev Byerley, Broom at Pt. Holmes
Arts & Craft Gallery

VIEWS FROM MY COMOX VALLEY

BEV BYERLEY (Courtenay, BC)
Acrylic paintings on canvas

June 6 - June 29, 2011
Opening Reception Friday June 10th
from 7 to 9pm
For Bev Byerley the landscape is a tapestry of rich colours, textures and patterns. Most of the paintings in this series are scenes from the same path she walks each day, but subtle changes in light, weather, and seasons constantly shape and re-shape the familiar into fresh new imagery.

Born in Gimli, Manitoba, painter, printmaker Bev Byerley became a resident of the Comox Valley in 1965.  After graduating from high school in 1977, Bev furthered her studies in an oil painting course at the Banff School of Fine Arts in Alberta.  With plans to be an illustrator, Bev was accepted into the commercial arts program at Capilano College in North Vancouver and upon completion of this course, worked for a graphic artist in downtown Vancouver.  Bev is best known in the Comox Valley for her acrylic landscapes of the west coast and of Newfoundland.
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Blaine Campbell

Blaine Campbell, Transient 4
Public Gallery

DEMARCATION

BLAINE CAMPBELL (Vancouver BC)
Large format photography, light box, projection and installation

June 11 – July 23, 2011
Opening Reception Friday June 10th
from 7 to 9pm

Guest Curator:
MEGAN WILSON (Cumberland BC)


Click here for Blaine Campbell's online catalogue for Demarcation
Demarcation is a selection of work by Blaine Campbell organized by guest curator Megan Wilson.  This series investigate the ethos/mythos of nature in the collective Canadian psyche; the constructed ideal and processes of manipulation.

Blaine Campbell holds a BFA in photography from Emily Carr University as well as a B.Math (Waterloo) and M.Sc. (University of Calgary).

The recipient of the National Award in the BMO 1st Art! Invitational juried competition and the Emerging Artist Award from the Contemporary Arts Society in Vancouver, Blaine was recently selected to create a permanent installation in the lobby of the National headquarters of the Canadian Association of University Teachers.  His work has been exhibited at the Republic Gallery, The Surrey Art Gallery, the Reach Gallery Museum, and the Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art and in the Netherlands.He is represented by the Republic Gallery in Vancouver.
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Perrin Sparks with self portrait

Perrin Sparks, Into the Night Gently

 Arts & Craft Gallery

STEPS TO A LIKENESS

PERRIN SPARKS (Quadra Island, BC)
Portraits, Etchings and Landscapes

July 3 - July 27, 2011
Opening Reception Wednesday July 6th
from 4pm - 7pm


Live Portraiture Drawing:
Wednesday, July 6 from 1pm - 3pm

Phone ahead to book a charcoal drawn portrait session with the artist
- take home a treasure.
 After a career of working as a surgical artist, portraying anatomy for limited color production, Perrin Sparks now enjoys creating full-sized figurative paintings and working with a live model. She works in pastels, due to the colourful quality. Pastels have also forced her to think in terms of bolder gestures due to the constraints of the medium. She was introduced to oil painting driven by portrait commission requests.

In November 2005, she and her new husband moved from Texas to their lakeside home on Quadra Island,BC and in 2006 they opened Lake Haven Atelier and Art Retreat.
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Liz Carter

Liz Carter, Untitled (Vest)
Public Gallery

ON RESERVE

LIZ CARTER (Campbell River BC)
Large format photographs, sculpture and video

July 30 - September 10, 2011
Opening Reception Friday July 29th
from 7 to 9pm

Art Talk: Liz Carter - On Reserve
Saturday, August 20 from 2pm to 3pm

 Being a person of First Nations ancestry far removed from her cultural roots, Carter alters the viewpoint of Western Imperialist nostalgia. She plays with commercialism from the perspective of a contemporary North American "Indian", exploring the themes of the "Noble Savage" and "Indian Princess". Staging herself as the subject of photography and film, she shops for traditional staple foods in big box stores, dressed in red attire and red heels. Absurdity and humor punctuate the deconstruction.

Liz Carter was educated at Emily Carr University and is the recipient of the Aboriginal Arts Development Award (2003) and the VADA Award (2004). She has exhibited solo at Campbell River Public Art Gallery, Two Rivers Art Gallery, in many group shows on Vancouver Island and has work in the collection of the Canada Council Art Bank and the 2010 Olympic Committee.
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Megan Dulcie Dill

Megan Dulcie Dill, Salmon Cycles Series
Arts and Craft Gallery

FOOD SOURCE

MEGAN DULCIE DILL (Powell River BC)
Oil paintings on wood and canvas

July 29 – August 27, 2011
Opening Reception Friday July 29th
from 7 to 9pm
 These small scale oil paintings reflect the vibrant diversity of local area food sources and their growth cycles. Megan Dulcie Dill explores current thoughts on food today in her abstract versions of shellfish, salmon, berries and other offerings in life’s foodchain. Dill is concerned with finding a balance between natural occurrences and controlled actions through her artistic process. Luminous shapes emerge and come alive in her paintings through texture, colour and shifting lines.

A full time painter Megan Dulcie Dill incorporates her love for the natural world in her paintings. She is a graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and the University of Toronto and is involved with various community arts initiatives while dividing her time between Powell River and Savary Island. She has participated in shows across Canada and her work can be found in collections across North America.
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Reliquary Chests by Yartys
Arts and Craft Gallery

ALWAYS AND FOREVER

YARTYS (Courtenay BC)
Old world European inspired
reliquary chests & mirrors

September 1 - 28, 2011

Opening Reception Friday Sept. 16th
from 7 to 9pm

 Yartys was born and raised in Northern Alberta, Canada. He has a Diploma in Architecture, Bachelor Degrees in Industrial/ Technology Education and Visual Arts (painting, ceramics & sculpture). He is Graduate of the Banff School of Fine Arts - Visual Art Department and has a Trade Qualified Ticket in Bench Work & Cabinetry

Yarty has been an instructor at U of A, Edmonton, Alberta; North Island College, BC; various high schools as well as teaching in Japan & Korea.

Most of his art work has been influenced by his extensive travels around the world. Many of his works also reflect the concerns he has about significant moral, ethical and problematic/unresolved  issues of our times.
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Joël D.

Sara Vipond
Public Gallery

A RELEASING BREATH

Joël D. (Cortes Island BC)
Sculpture

SARA VIPOND (Hornby Island BC)
drawings and prints

September 17 – November 5, 2011

Opening Reception Friday September 16th from 7-9pm
 A Releasing Breath examines the physical, visceral and liminal qualities of life/death of the human body.   A series of sculptural abstractions of human/animal body parts, delicate translucent drawings and a sound sculpture questions the connection (or lack thereof) of life and the beyond.

Joël D. has a Visual Arts Diploma from Centennial College, Ontario and studied at Alberta College of Art, completing a BFA at Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.

Sara Vipond holds a BFA from University of Toronto and an MFA from York University and is an instructor for North Island College and Emily Carr University.
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George Sawchuk Gallery

THE SIGNIFICANT DREAM PROJECT

Mail Art Group Exhibition
Curated by Cathy Stoyko

September 17 to November 5, 2011

Opening Reception:
Friday Sept. 16th from 7pm to 9pm

WORKSHOP:
The Significant Dream Project with Cathy Stoyko

Art Blog:
The Significant Dream Project
 "Approximately seventy seven artists from around the globe have sent in a total of about 100 dreams! Along with postcard sized art I have also received 2 'dream' related zines and an incredible LTR sized collage to include in the show. One of the interesting observations I have made after seeing all of the art work people have sent is the honesty in dreams. It is one of the beautiful things about dreaming, our ego isn't involved in the same way. Another inspiring aspect about dreams is that anything is possible and that is a good reminder to carry over into our waking lives, the surrealist know this well."
- Guest Curator, Cathy Stoyko
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Alberta Potters Association

Alberta Potters Association
 Arts and Craft Gallery

ALBERTA IN A BOX: WIDE OPEN

ALBERTA POTTERS ASSOCIATION
Ceramics

October 1 – November 5, 2011

 The Alberta Potters Association developed an exhibition titled Alberta in a Box: Wide Open which will run in tandem with BC in a Box 3: the Edge of Here. Alberta pieces will show in BC while BC pieces will show in Alberta. This show is open to all members of the APA, both emerging and established. The goal of the show is

1) to provide our members an opportunity to exhibit their work with other provincial members

2) to provide the public an overview of the wide-ranging clay investigations of some of the most provocative and eloquent potter/clay artists.

For more information, please visit both the APA and BCPA websites.
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Bill Friesen & Marci Katz

Bill Friesen & Marci Katz, Boxing Match
 Public Gallery

THE BOXING MATCH

BILL FRIESEN (Deep Bay BC)
Sculpture and assemblage

MARCI KATZ (Deep Bay BC)
Sculpture and assemblage

November 12 – December 31, 2011

Opening Reception Thursday November 10th from 7-9pm

ART TALK: The Boxing Match
with Marci Katz & Bill Friesen
Saturday December 3, 2011, from 2pm to 3pm		 The Boxing Match is a collaboration by life partners Friesen and Katz. They were interested in the broad concept of containment and its presence in areas of personal, cultural, social, political and working life. The artists state that for them, containment suggests issues of power, repression, violence, concealment, escape, and freedom.  A key element of the project was an awareness of how their social conditioning, specifically gender differences, would influence the artworks. The overall tone of the artworks tends to be humorous, even though most of the works reference serious ideas and issues.

Bill Friesen holds a BFA from University of Manitoba.  He is co-founder of The Peoples’ Gallery, now called the Oceanside Gallery, in Parksville BC.  He has worked as a juror for numerous art exhibitions, curated many art shows, conducts workshops and seminars on visual arts and has exhibited widely on Vancouver Island since 1995. Friesen primarily works as a sculptor.

Marci Katz has a double honours BA degree from UBC in Philosophy and International Politics.  She trained in the visual arts with individual artists/instructors and earned a Graphic Design diploma at Niagara College of Applied Arts, where she later taught advertising design, silkscreen print making and drawing. Katz considers herself to be primarily an assemblage artist.
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Arts and Craft Gallery

CVAG 37th ANNUAL CHRITMAS CRAFT FAIR

November 18 - December 31, 2011

Storewide Specials Opening Day November 18th
Local handmade pottery, jewellery, ornaments, paintings, prints, cards, glasswork, woodwork, speciality foods, stocking stuffers & much more!
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George Sawchuk Gallery

SPIN

Rebekah Clarke and Miranda Kent

November 18 - December 31, 2011

 GP Vanier Secondary students Rebekah Clarke and Miranda Kent, present SPIN, an art project using vinyl records which Kent had collected while garage sale-ing.  She knew she wanted to do something artistic with them. In their art class, they were introduced to the process of silk-screening or serigraph printing, which they say was a bit challenging at first, “it’s new and exciting - we are really enjoying it”.
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For 2012 exhibition listings click the above heading

We gratefully acknowledge support from the Government of Canada, the Province of BC, British Columbia Arts Council, BC Gaming, Comox Valley Regional District Areas A, B & C, City of Courtenay, Town of Comox, Membership, Private Donation and Volunteers


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