Stir 'Splainer: 3 artists on their works in Arts Umbrella's annual Splash auction
Lyle XOX, Angela Grossmann, and Stephen Waddell tell the stories behind the artworks they’ve put up for auction in the facility’s annual fundraiser
Lyle XOX’s NaCI, 2017, Legacy barta paper, acid free mount, UV plexi, donated by the artist; courtesy Kostuik Gallery
ARTS UMBRELLA hosts a special edition of its Splash Auction and Gala on Saturday, October 24.
Art lovers can bid in a live auction that takes place that night; a silent auction is in place till October 26.
The live auction features almost 100 artworks by contemporary artists from across BC and Canada, including Dana Claxton, Douglas Coupland, Andrew Dadson, Kim Dorland, John Hartman, Angela Grossmann, Marie Khouri, Danny Singer, and Stephen Waddell.
You can participate and get more info here.
Proceeds go to supporting the Arts Umbrella’s acclaimed youth arts programs across dance, visual arts, theatre, music, and more.
The event is being hosted over multiple locations, each with a maximum of 50 people as per provincial government and health official guidelines. Co-chaired by arts supporters Christie Garofalo and Bruce Munro Wright, the live auction will connect guests at every location via large digital screens.
The auction draws some of the biggest names on the BC contemporary-art scene; below three of them tell the story behind a trio of works you’ll find in Saturday’s live auction.
Lyle XOX’s NaCI, 2017 (top)
“I create mixed media self-portraits that fuse facial sculpture, makeup, and found objects into work that speaks about the power of transformation and the ability to move beyond the sense of self. Each portrait embodies the DNA of stories which are embedded into the cast off items discarded by society. Objects that once served purpose or were intensely loved, having reached their expiry date, are now being granted an additional chapter in their inanimate journey.
“In this particular work, a visit to the hospital heightened my awareness of the excessive waste that is embraced in the healthcare arena all in the name of sanitization. The plastic IV bags that, at one time played a vital role in recovery, now laid in a useless heap at the bottom of a trash bin. The facial sculpture is a celebration of these objects and the story of personal healing.”
Angela Grossmann’s Blue 2020, oil paint on mylar, donated by the artist.
Angela Grossmann’s Blue, 2020
“I had pretty well stopped working in March and April, and, like many others, I was in a state of confusion that had swallowed up my creativity. I was working at home making small drawings when I got a phonecall asking me to contribute to Splash this year.I didn’t think I had anything that felt appropriate to give,so I decided to get back to the studio and see what might happen.
“Initially I felt odd making a large piece with a grand physical gesture in a time of such uncertainty, but it was exactly what I needed to do. Though not a celebration, it was an act of positivity. Blue 2020 is six and a half feet long; it was painted in one day using one colour: Prussian blue.
“The image: a woman emerging from a puddle of blue, passing through time; there and yet not there, a glimpse, a snatched moment, a fugitive beauty... It felt appropriate for the time.”
Stephen Waddell’s Woman With Blue Portfolio, 2004, archival pigment print, donated by artist, courtesy Monte Clarke Gallery.
Stephen Waddell’s Woman With Blue Portfolio, 20014
“It’s a piece that came out of working close to home in Berlin, a place called Alexanderplatz. Many filmmakers have made interesting films and other projects about Alexanderplatz, and since it was close to my studio, I was able to go there on a regular basis and photograph people coming and going,pedestrians one could call them. There’s a kind of beautiful ambiguity about making pictures in the same place for years and years.
“Woman with Blue Portfolio is one of many pictures that I made in the early 2000s that relate to the subject matter of that place, the concentration of people; I was trying to uncover the absorbed state of people by photographing them, viewing their appearance on film and then relaying that in the form of an artwork. Through photography, you can say something about how those people appear and what might be going through their mind. Of course you can't fully uncover it and photography is not narrative,but there is a parallel narrative and there is a suggestion of what's going on.”
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