This summer Royal BC Museum is taking over the Wing Sang as a satellite museum space in Vancouver. Based out of Victoria, Royal BC will be bringing parts of their celebrated exhibition about Emily Carr amongst other gems from their collection. They will be open daily from June 14 to September 3, 2012. For more information about the exhibition and about visiting, please see their website rbcmvancouver.com.

Rennie Collection is pleased to present, for one night only, an evening of cinema on May 25, 2012 by Italian artist Francesco Vezzoli. This event, which runs from 7-9pm, is the first exhibition of Vezzoli’s work in Vancouver. Proceeds from ticket and drink sales will benefit UNIT/PITT Projects, and everyone involved in the evening, from Collection staff to former interns to friendly helpers have graciously volunteered their time to maximize the benefit to UNIT/PITT. The twitter hashtag for the evening is #VezzoliNite – so please don’t hesitate to tweet before, during and after film night!

Trailer for a remake of Gore Vidal’s Caligula (2005) is a star-studded imaginary remake of the original controversial and depraved 1979 film. Marlene Redux: A True Hollywood Story! (2006) makes a mockery of celebrity documentaries by following the rise and fictional fall of Vezzoli himself. Lastly, GREED, A New Fragrance by Francesco Vezzoli (2009) is a fabricated perfume advertisement featuring Michelle Williams and Natalie Portman, directed by Roman Polanski. Shown on a loop over the course of the evening, the films will be projected almost 4.5 metres (15 ft) high in one of the main exhibition rooms at Wing Sang.

Admission to film night is $10 which includes one drink; tickets can be purchased online at Brown Paper Tickets or with cash at the Rennie Collection office during regular office hours (9 am – 5 pm, Monday-Friday). Due to the nature of the films, this event is strictly 19+. All films are courtesy Galleria Franco Noero, Torino with special thanks to Whistler Water.

We’ve just completed a large collaborative project with Emily Carr University and Union Gospel Mission to create and install art in the dining hall of the new UGM building. Taking shape as a class at ECU called ‘The Vicinity of Painting’, 14 students worked tirelessly with their instructor, the Collection and UGM to create beautiful and meaningful installations for the 600+ guests who dine at UGM on a daily basis. The project was an enormous success resulting in three dynamic installation pieces. Videos of the installation of each work can be found on our Vimeo site. Press coverage from the duration of the project is below for more information.

Restoring dignity, one piece of art at a time by Marsha Lederman – Globe & Mail
Uplifting work aims to brighten lives by Lori Culbert – Vancouver Sun
Students liven up Downtown Eastside by Marsha Lederman with photos by Rafal Gerszak – Globe & Mail

Our exhibit with Vancouver-based artist Damian Moppett has been incredibly well-received by both locals and visitors alike. Catalogue preparations are almost complete, but in the meantime, please find a selection of press on the exhibition below.

Critic’s Pick: Damian Moppett by Aaron Peck – Artforum
The Autobiography of Damian Moppett by Aaron Carpenter – NY Arts Magazine
The Artist’s Studio by Shannon Heth – Montecristo Magazine
Damian Moppett’s one-man history of art by Marsha Lederman – Globe & Mail
Damian Moppett creates lessons in art history by Sarah Berman – Vancouver Sun

We’ve also been chosen as one of the top 20 reasons to be in Canada by Wallpaper Magazine and will now be featured in their updated City Guide for Vancouver, released earlier this month. We’re very excited to continue to welcome guests from all over the world to our exhibitions!

Top 20 Reasons to be in Canada in Wallpaper Magazine
Rennie Collection in Wallpaper City Guide for Vancouver

Damian Moppett Artist Talk
Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 7pm
Emily Carr University Lecture Hall
Room 301, South Building

Damian Moppett charts a self-reflective studio practice spanning photography, sculpture, drawing, painting and video, often using one medium to examine another. Rennie Collection is currently presenting the first comprehensive survey of his work from November 21, 2011 to April 21, 2012, and in conjunction will be hosting his talk at Emily Carr as a part of the Rennie Collection Speaker Series.

His expansive Watercolour Drawing Project (2004-2008) exhibited at Wing Sang in all of its breadth is a ruminative omnibus of artistic process, reference and representation. These 128 sibling works range from prodigiously detailed portraits of his studio in flux to costumed self-portraiture to studies of the works of beloved art-historical predecessors. As this series anthologizes his diverse practice into a personal archive of imagery, it depicts a unique and romantic account of thoughtful, ascetic artistic practice. Also on display is Broken Fall, a new aluminum mobile work created specially for this presentation. Hovering, yet falling, broken though intact, this work will estimate further Moppett’s long time formal fascination with suspension, collapse and gravitas. The exhibition is accompanied by a supporting catalogue featuring an essay by Dr Cliff Lauson, Curator of the Hayward Gallery, London, England.

Born in Calgary, Alberta in 1969 and currently living and working in Vancouver, Damian Moppett attended Emily Carr College of Art and Design and received his Master of Fine Arts from Concordia University, Montreal. He has exhibited widely including at The Power Plant, Toronto; The National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal and the Witte de With, Rotterdam.

Rennie Collection is pleased to announce the donation of Brian Jungen’s Court (2004) to the National Gallery of Canada.

Acquired by the Rennie Collection in February 2004, Court is an important work that deals with the themes of cultural identity and social injustice that are central to both the Rennie Collection and Jungen’s oeuvre.

Brian Jungen was born and raised in Fort Nelson, B.C., and moved to Vancouver to pursue his post-secondary education at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. He has exhibited work in over fifty institutions, including the Musée d’art contemporain in Montreal, New York’s PS1, and the Tate Modern, London. He is best known for his manipulation of readymades into commodity-based sculptures, such as his Prototype for New Understanding series of Haida-inspired masks made from Air Jordan sneakers.

More information from our official press release here.