This weekend we went to see the Vancouver Art Gallery's A Terrible Beauty: Edward Burtynsky show as well as the Lawren Harris show.
Edward Burtynsky is a Toronto based photographer that is internationally renowned for his captivating photographs of natural and manmade landscapes that reflect both the impressive reach and impact of our human endeavors. I was very excited when I learned that the Vancouver Art Gallery was presenting an exhibition of his work, as he is an artist whose work I admire. I find his photos fascinating. His images are beautiful and epic with the scale of things he photographs. And yet when you read the title or story behind a piece you realize the awful environmental impact on the landscape that he has captured so beautifully. Burtynksy's photos capture both natural and manmade subject matters in abstract, highly patterned compositions. The abstracted and patterned nature of his work is what draws me and fascinates me about his work.
Oxford Tire Pile #4, Edward Burtynsky
Rock of Ages #26 Abandoned Section, Edward Burtynsky
Oil Fields #19a, Edward Burtynsky
We also took the opportunity to see the show Lawren Harris: Canadian Visionary show that was on. Lawren Harris was a founding member of the Group of Seven, painters of Canada's iconic landscape art. Most people will have come across his work in some form, often reproduced on a calendar, greeting card or mug. What I found most interesting about this exhibition was that it looked at his whole range of work that he produced throughout his career. It began with his early work before the Group of Seven (1920-1933) and followed it through to the 1960s. After touring through the exhibition I found that I prefered his more structured work to his flowing, curvy work. Some of these included his early architectural paintings and his modern, hard edged abstracts pieces.
Abstract No. 7, Lawren Harris
Red House Winter, Lawren Harris
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