Art lovers in Coquitlam and Port Moody will be busy Thursday as each community's cultural centre is opening exhibits.
The Art Gallery at Evergreen is presenting Unreal, a fantastical exhibition that considers the diversity and innovation with which artists explore the edges of reality. Included will be works by contemporary artists such as Francis Bacon, Luanne Martineau, Marina Roy and several others.
"All of the artists in Unreal owe a debt to the surrealist movement, which began in the 1920s and has since inspired countless artists, writers and poets to liberate their imaginations and delve into ideas around psychology and emotions, dreams and fantasy, the strange and the absurd," read a press release.
The opening reception will be Sept. 15 from 4 to 6 p.m., and just previous, from 2 to 4 p.m., a family workshop will be offered which examines dreams, emotions and psychology while teaching participants about the history of collage within the surrealist movement and contemporary art. Registration is $25 for the public, $15 for Evergreen members and $10 for children under 12. Call 604-927-6552 to register.
Unreal runs until Nov. 7, and the gallery is open Monday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. with free public tours Saturdays at 2 p.m. For more information visit evergreenculturalcentre.ca/art-gallery.
In Port Moody, the Arts Centre is hosting an opening reception Sept. 12 for three distinctive exhibitions celebrating and featuring work from community members.
The first exhibit is titled Then and Now: Portrait of a Community. Suite 'E' Life Drawing Group members will celebrate the community's centennial in an exploration of portraiture and history.
That's Not What I Put in the Kiln is being presented by the Port Moody Arts Centre's Open Clay Studio members. They will present a start-to-finish project, showing how clay can be changed into colourful, sculptural forms through heat.
The final exhibit is Korean Pottery: Shaping Tradition, which will be run by students of master potter Clay (Jung Hong) Kim. This show demonstrates distinctive forms and techniques, such as celadon-glazed surfaces, inlay and perforated detail and interpreting the natural environment.
All three will be on display daily until Oct. 13.
