Muir Gallery - Exhibition Archives

Hours & Location

440 Anderton Ave Courtenay, BC
250-334-2983
Tues to Sat 11am to 4pm

Past, Present and Future The Art of Ed Varney: A Retrospective
Ed Varney to give Artist Talk Saturday February 28 at 1pm Free! Everyone Welcome! Muir Gallery Exhibition runs Feb 6-28 Opening Reception: Feb 6 from 7 to 9pm Ever since he was a child, Royston resident Ed Varney loved to draw and paint. He says "My mother was the only parent I ever heard of who actually wanted her child to become an artist" because he enjoyed making art so much. Beginning on February 6th, The Muir Gallery at 440 Anderton Avenue in Courtenay is presenting an exhibition spanning 50 years of Varney's art making. The works shown include painting, sculpture, assemblage, artistamps, prints, drawings and collage. Varney believes "the job of the artist is to make ideas visible." As well as visual art, his varied career has included writing, publishing, printing, curating and consulting. He has a Master's degree in English Literature and for nearly 20 years founded and ran, with a partner, Intermedia Press in Vancouver. The press published about 125 books of poetry, art, fiction, and trade books. He is the author of 5 books of poetry, over a dozen chapbooks, and has edited numerous books and magazines. He sold his 50% share in the press at age 46 to become a full time artist, curator and public art consultant in Vancouver. He moved permanently to the Comox Valley in 2004. He also founded and worked with many visual arts organizations including Intermedia Society, The Poem Factory, the Central Visual Artist's Association, Artropolis, the Museo Internacionale de Neu Art, and the Vancouver Artist's League, and has served on the board of the Comox Valley Art Gallery, the Comox Valley Community Arts Council and the Oceanside Community Arts Council. Since the early 1970s, he has been an active participant in the Mail Art Network, an international assemblage of artists who correspond with each other and exchange art through the mail. "The Mail Art Network predates the internet but works in the same, it is an open metaphor of association which facilitates the trading of art and information, finds venues for exhibiting this art, and constantly updates mailing lists. When I began my involvement with this network, postage was cheap and the postal system was one of the only ways that artists in oppressed countries could communicate with the rest of the world. Now postage is so expensive that we have to collaborate with institutions to sponsor mailing on a project basis", he states. In the winter of 2009-2010 he is organizing a Mail Art Olympix which will bring together art work by approximately 300 artists from 35 countries. The Comox Valley Art Gallery will host this event in November. Artists are asked to contact him at evarney@shaw.ca for more information. As well as small works that could be sent through the mail, Varney has also produced a body of paintings, sculptures, video, and performance art which has both a playful and a serious intent. He has produced over 100 sheets of artistamps, a new media genre which grew out of his involvement with Mail Art. Varney says that he hopes his art will raise more questions than it answers. Varney states "The artist uses the most primitive tools - the pen and pencil, the brush, and the chisel - to do their work. All art is handmade. Every work is a prototype. Most artists have to have a day job to make a living. Becoming an artist is a poor career choice but it's a great life. Artists never retire because by the time an artist reaches 65, their life and their work have become one thing." Varney's retrospective runs until February 28th. Hours: Tues to Sat 11am to 4pm 440 Anderton Ave, Courtenay 250-334-2983 www.comoxvalleyarts.org
4 Feb 2009 - 12:47 by admin	Exhibition Archives |

MUIR GALLERY CALENDAR 2007

Local Colours Festival
Sept 13-16 Downtown Courtenay

Work from the Local Colours Festival,
Show Runs: Sept 16- 29
Opening: Sun Sept 16 from 1-3pm

Explorations of the Landscape by Artist Kristin Russell
Show Runs: Oct 5- Nov 3
Opening: Fri Oct 5 from 7-9pm

Construction Site an Installation by Grace Wolff
Show Runs: Nov 9 – Dec 1
Opening: Fri Nov 9 from 7-9pm

Gourds by artist Kim Lewis
Show Runs: Dec 7- 29
Opening Fri Dec 7 from 7-9pm