There are five categories of painting in traditional art history: portrait, landscape, history, genre (everyday life), and still life. Tim Okamura pushes portraiture (arguably the most revered academic genre of painting) to cross its own disciplinary boundaries and to venture into the realms of street art, graffiti, urban mythology and collage. Persephone, part of the “Brooklyn Mythology” series, is a contemporary interpretation of the ancient Greek myth: the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Demeter, Persephone was abducted by Hades and brought to the underworld where she reigned as Queen and, upon her release, symbolised renewal and Spring.
Ancient Greek and Roman mythology have long assumed whiteness. Classical beauty, morality, and romantic love have been portrayed as inherently European and caucasian. Okamura’s Persephoneis a contemporary African-American woman whose gaze emanates from a strong central stance and whose traumatic past is referenced through the orange flame-like brushstrokes that call up Hades’ inferno. Persephone confronts the racial biases of history and puts forth the possibility for an emergence of oppressed histories of black female identities.
Portraiture involves a complex dynamic between the subject (sitter) of the painting, the artist, and the viewer. Feminist approaches may ask: who has the power to look and what gender, race and class power relations are revealed? The Lioness, like Persephone, denies the viewer her gaze and, with arm crossed in front of her, instead focuses to her future. The male lion stands behind her and, crowned and standing for dominance and heraldry, the king lion is in her past. In a full-body collaged portrait, The Lioness stands in courage, strength and leadership.
Okamura’s work raises an important cultural critique and provokes a question that is being asked across the disciplines of literature and the visual arts: does an individual have the right to represent another person who does not share their race, gender, class or sexuality? Do Okamura’s representations of women of colour run the risk of cultural appropriation or are they part of a productive discourse on the real lived experiences of African-American women? This question, while potentially uncomfortable, lies at the heart of Okamura’s practice. Based in Brooklyn, a borough home to diverse black communities since the 1930s, Okamura’s mixed Japanese and European descent inflects his approach as “outsider art” and potentially allows for a broadening of the rigid confines of both portraiture and urban identities.
May 1, 2019 at 10:00 AM
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Photo: Don Denton
Esi Edugyan has twice won the Scotiabank Giller Prize for her novels Washington Black (2018) and Half Blood Blues (2011). Both novels were also shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. She has degrees from the University of Victoria and Johns Hopkins University. Her work has appeared in several anthologies, including Best New American Voices 2003. Her debut novel, written when she was 25, The Second Life of Samuel Tyne, was published internationally. In 2014, she published her first book of non-fiction, Dreaming of Elsewhere: Observations on Home.
Steven Price is the author of three novels, Lampedusa (forthcoming August, 2019), By Gaslight (2016), longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and Into That Darkness (2011). Also an acclaimed poet, he has written two award-winning poetry books, Anatomy of Keys (2006), winner of the Gerald Lampert Award, and Omens in the Year of the Ox (2012), winner of the ReLit Award.
TICKET PRICE: $30 PER PERSON
Includes one of the author’s novels as well as special offers from Liquidity & Vancouver’s Writers Fest.
Don’t forget to book a lunch or dinner at the Bistro to truly enjoy your experience at Liquidity. Book online at www.liquiditywines.com/Bistro or call 778-515-5500 Ext 1 to make a reservation.
IN COLLABORATION WITH THE VANCOUVER WRITERS FESTThe Vancouver Writers Fest connects people to exceptional books, ideas and dialogue through year-round programming that ignites a passion for words and the world around us. For more information visit www.writersfest.bc.ca
Apr 24, 2019 at 10:15 AM
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Ten Thousand Dots exemplifies Teo González’ post-minimalist style. Layered within an uneven grid, cell-like circles are intermittently filled with painted dots. A riff on the primary colours of blue and red, the cyan background is accentuated by floating magenta dots, conjuring a natural habitat and living organisms. González’ surface is a testament to his process: a methodical, perhaps painstaking, creation of concentric “stains” repeating themselves across the canvas. The painting becomes its meaning - a treatise on disciplined repetition and the nature of paint itself. However, despite González’ refusal to ascribe a message to his work, viewers may find a reference to nature in the painting’s undulating membranes and perhaps even to the human body where moving nuclei follow arterial pathways.
Minimalist art of the 1960s and 70s sought to make art that eschewed metaphor and political and social meaning. Rather, minimalism aimed to reduce art to a purely aesthetic experience where material and form replaced content. It claimed to be self-referential. That is, the work pointed only to its own making, materiality, and visual matter. Abstract Expressionism before it, as practiced by artists such as Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, was concerned with emotion and the gesture. Minimalism, by contrast, with artists such as Donald Judd and Sol LeWitt, removed the hand of the artist and presented objects that used industrial and synthetic materials and the seriality of shapes.
González calls up these two art historical movements. True to minimalism, his paintings are self-referential. Certainly, when apprehending his works, the viewer is forced first to consider the process of its production and is overwhelmed by its visual field. However, in the tradition of gestural painting, González’ hand is present in the work. The taches seem almost primordial and intuitive and they enliven and loosen the restraint of the painting’s surface.
For more information about Teo visit www.teogonzalez.rocks or follow @teogonzalezstudio on Instagram.
Dr. Lara Tomaszewska is an art historian and art advisor to private and public collections in North America, the UK, and Europe. She holds a PhD in Art History with expertise in Canadian art, European painting, and American modernism. Lara has taught at the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia and her consulting projects include provenance research and acquisition planning on works by Emily Carr, Henri Matisse, Edvard Munch, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Dale Chihuly, Emily Young and Wu Ching Ju.
Lara is the founder and director of Openwork Art Advisory and is a member of the Association of Art Historians, the Universities Art Association of Canada, and the International Society of Appraisers.
For more information contact: Lara Tomaszewska, PhD, ISA | lara@openworkart.com | www.openworkart.com
Mar 25, 2019 at 2:24 PM
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Proudly presenting “Twisted” by the renowned UK sculptor Richard Hudson. Richard is an acclaimed contemporary sculptor whose monumental and smaller scale works have achieved global recognition. Hudson pares down iconic shapes such as the heart, teardrop, and human form, leaving only the essence of meaning. Traditional ideals of balance and harmony are sculpted in hard polished steel yet retain softness in elongated lines and curves.
While many artists cite inspiration from masters such as Constantin Brancusi and Henry Moore, Hudson’s work moves beyond this lineage to innovate forms through process and materials. Based in a quest for classical beauty, the works open up a distinctly contemporary dialogue between the viewer and changing forms of (urban) landscape to probe a deeper investigation into the human psyche.
Feb 27, 2019 at 2:53 PM
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This exhibition is in this creative climate of blurring that Lyle finds his mixed media self portraits not only accepted, but highly celebrated. The portraits are transformative in nature and fuse inspiration from high fashion with the mundane objects of every day life; taking beauty and turning it on its head. “For me, it is not about Drag, female impersonation or living the life of a New York City clubkid. It has always been and continues to be about the art. My face as a canvas.” Through the process of removing his self identify and replacing it with that of an object, it encourages dialogue on a journey connecting the viewer with a myriad of objects relating to their own carbon footprint and consumerism through a surreal lens.
Liquidity Winery is pleased to present these self portraits that fuse facial sculpture, makeup, found objects and fictional writing into works that speak about the power of transformation and the ability to move beyond the sense of self.
Feb 27, 2019 at 2:46 PM
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Sculptor David Robinson has been a force in the Canadian art scene for the last 25 years. Based in Vancouver, he is known for his conceptually and physically complex works that are outstanding contemporary examples of a type of humanist realism that engages with fundamental, often spiritual questions of the experience and meaning of being. His sculptures do this through a few central premises; the universal human, our interaction with the physical world and the exploration of metaphysical ideas and their expression in form.
“I’m delighted to be showing at Liquidity this year,” David says. “It’s always meaningful to see the artwork in a new environment, and Liquidity’s Ian MacDonald has done a brilliant job cultivating a beautiful setting for the sculpture.”
Robinson has produced numerous solo shows, and participated in many group exhibits nationally and internationally. His sculptures have been commissioned by such clients as Polygon Homes, the Four Seasons Hotel Resort in Whistler, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, and Century Group. His work is in many private and corporate collections including the Rosewood Hotel Georgia, Dentons Canada LLP, Painted Rock Estate Winery, Toronto Dominion Bank, and Vancouver General Hospital.
Don’t forget to book a lunch or dinner at the Bistro to truly enjoy your experience at Liquidity. Book online at www.liquiditywines.com/Bistro or call 778-515-5500 Ext 1 to make a reservation.
Feb 27, 2019 at 10:51 AM
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Belle Isle Aquarium
This exhibition presents the large format photographic work of Canadian photographer Philip Jarmain. Since 2010 Jarmain has been documenting the increasingly rapid destruction of Detroit’s early twentieth-century buildings. His emphasis in this work is on the architecture itself of these vanishing edifices: The form and the detail.
In Jarmain’s own words: “These are the last large format architectural photographs for many of these structures.” This is work of great visual impact, the scale and definition of the images translating for the viewer into space that one enters, a physical presence that one feels, and history that one contemplates. The majority of these majestic pre- buildings are presently being destroyed at an exponential rate as they lie victim to scrappers, arson, and demolition.
These photographs as an opportunity to consider the historical and current state of Detroit as an American city.
Feb 27, 2019 at 10:10 AM
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Spring has arrived at Liquidity Wines, bringing with it the re-opening of Liquidity Bistro - helmed by a powerhouse new chef and operations manager. There's never been a better time to visit the winery & bistro and raise a glass to the best season yet!
Visitors to the winery can now bask in the Okanagan Valley's spectacularly sunny weather at Liquidity Bistro, which just opened for the duration of the 2018 season. After sampling wine flights in Liquidity's light-filled tasting room, guests can adjourn to the bistro for sustainable, seasonal, artful cuisine. The bistro's airy interior is an aesthetic marvel, adorned by contemporary art fit for display in the world's top galleries. Outdoors, the sun-washed patio is idyllic for sipping wine while listening to the soothing trickle of an infinity water feature and soaking in postcard-worthy views of the sprawling vineyard and Vaseux Lake.
This season, the bistro team is led by Head Chef Matt Martin, whose love of food and cooking started at a young age. After working his way through the ranks in various kitchens in the Okanagan, Matt came to work at Liquidity Bistro with former Chef Rob Walker in 2015. He has since travelled throughout Thailand, Germany and Belgium; Matt also worked at Chef Christian Puglisi's Michelin-starred restaurant Relae in Copenhagen, where he developed a passion for sustainable cuisine and land stewardship. Now, Chef and his likeminded team at Liquidity have renewed their focus on serving responsibly sourced, seasonally influenced plates whose exquisite presentation pays homage to the winery's focus on the arts.
"I'm thrilled to be back in the Okanagan and to be able to bring my style of food to the guests of Liquidity Bistro," said Matt. "I'm particularly excited to start our own farm garden here at the winery. I think it's incredibly important for people to know the story behind their food, and this will provide diners with access to hyper-local ingredients that they can actually see growing onsite."
Lucia Martin, the bistro's new operator, started her career in hospitality more than 25 years ago. After working extensively for Club Med Resorts in the Caribbean, Lucia returned to Canada where she learned about all aspects of the food and beverage industry by serving, bartending, managing and leading operations at well-known restaurant chains and independent operators. Lucia immediately accepted Liquidity's offer to join the team, where she now oversees all operations for the bistro.
Liquidity Bistro reflects the winery's artistic approach to life with an eclectic selection of artwork adorning the walls and colourful vibrant dishes produced by Chef Matt Martin and his culinary team. Honouring the seasons that dictate the life of the vineyard, food is freshly sourced from local farms and paired with fine wines from Liquidity as well as those of the neighbouring Okanagan Falls wineries.
2018 Culinary Team (L-R): Travis Gilbert, Pierre Geronimo (Sous Chef), Matt Martin (Head Chef), Austin Atcheson, Nolan Hennenfent (Sous Chef)
Mar 26, 2018 at 10:38 AM
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Our 2016 Chardonnay Reserve has been listed as the number one wine in the Top 10 Chardonnays to receive Gold medals at the recent 2018 Chardonnay du Monde Awards.
Now in its 25th year, the prestigious Chardonnay du Monde Awards recognize the world's best Chardonnays as evaluated by a panel comprised of 300 international experts. This year, 679 wines from 39 countries were tasted by the judges.
When asked about this award-winning wine, our winemaker Alison Moyes states: "We grow and craft our Chardonnay to be a direct reflection of our exceptional region, climate and soils here in Okanagan Falls. This, in combination with years of dedication and vision for this grape variety specifically, has culminated into something extraordinarily special, world class and distinctively Okanagan."
The award-winning 2016 Chardonnay Reserve features layered aromas of toasted almond, pear and peach with a subtle whisper of allspice. Complex yet well-balanced, the wine captures flavours of lime zest, pineapple, lemon curd and intense minerality, and leaves a lingering finish on the palate. Ideal pairings include roasted chicken, pork loin, cheese plates, creamy pasta and risotto with butter-basted scallops. The wine will be available for purchase in April to Liquidity's Equity Tasting Club members, followed by Club Liquidity members ($42, plus tax); it will also be available in the winery tasting room in July (while supplies last).
Mar 22, 2018 at 2:35 PM
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Steve Warner, PRESIDENT & CEO WASHINGTON STATE WINE
Steve Warner was appointed as President & CEO of the Washington State Wine Commission in February 2012. Steve came to the Commission from Merck & Co., Inc., where he was the Managing Director based in Bucharest, Romania. Prior to that, he held General Manager and marketing positions in global and regional marketing in the Asia Pacific region and led teams while living in Seoul, South Korea; Bangkok, Thailand; and several domestic markets.
In addition to a bachelor’s degree in biology, Steve holds a master’s of business administration in international business and finance from Rutgers University. Born and raised in eastern Washington State, Steve graduated from West Seattle High School before serving in the United States military’s Special Operations Command, first as a Sergeant in Pararescue and then as a Lieutenant Commander in U.S. Navy Special Operations.
On behalf of the state of Washington and its wineries and growers, the mission of the Washington State Wine Commission is to raise awareness and demand for Washington State wine through marketing and education, while supporting viticulture and enology research to drive industry growth.
The Washington State Wine Commission represents every licensed winery and every wine grape grower in Washington State. Guided by an appointed board, the Commission provides a marketing platform to raise positive awareness of the Washington State wine industry and generate greater demand for its wines. Funded almost entirely by the industry - through assessments based on grape and wine sales - the Commission is a state government agency, established by the legislature in 1987.
June 18th, 2018 at 6:30 pm
OKANAGAN COLLEGE PENTICTON CAMPUS
Tickets are $20. Refreshments will be served.
For More Information or to Purchase Tickets visit us at
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/wine-talks-4-tickets-44191445804
Mar 15, 2018 at 10:21 AM
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