VAAA shows strong local talent

One of the best opportunities to check out Alberta art of all stripes and flavours is on now in downtown Edmonton, but it’s a secret so don’t tell anybody.

The Visual Arts Alberta Association (VAAA) Gallery is discreetly tucked away on the third floor of an otherwise non-descript little office building along a half-industrial, half-revitalized residential street. It’s just about the last place you’d expect to see some really cool new art from a province-wide membership. No one would blame you if you walked right past it.

The VAAA is an association of several hundred artists involved in sculpture, painting, photography, digital arts, textiles … you name it and you’ll see it all at Diversity 2010. The gallery is not that large a space to hold pieces from everyone so this juried show really is la crème de la crème. Even better than that, you will get to see a fantastic representation of artists from St. Albert and area including Sharon Moore-Foster, Allison Argy-Burgess, Gina Fowler, Barb Rooney Shore, Dawn Leblanc, Nataliya Bukhanova and Corey Hochachka. Diversity is not just the name of the exhibit — it’s the name of the game, and it’s all good.

I was especially taken with Hochachka’s In Utero, a glorious black and white photograph of a nude woman posing in a fetal position in the eroded crevasse of a cliff face. It’s a distant shot to show how one single hollow organ shape was smoothed out of the otherwise craggy rock. It must have been impossible to not utilize the womblike setting for such a shot but it’s the large stone face rising out of the rocks in the lower left-hand corner that makes me think of a mindful and proud father watching over his as-yet-unborn daughter. Intentional or not, the image is striking, plus it reminds me how the VAAA itself acts as an incubator for talent.

Bukhanova’s Call of the Goddess is a fine example of this Legal artist’s efforts to explore the mystical other side of the world. The imagery of her fantastic symbolism is very strong and should get a stronger reception than it already does. Diversity 2010 is a fantastic chance to catch her and other rising stars before they hit it big. This is a show and sale with 25 per cent of the proceeds from every purchase going back to the VAAA to support its ongoing programming for the benefit of its membership.

Moore-Foster is also the gallery co-ordinator at the almost 10-year-old organization’s office and show space. She described this exhibit as inherently valuable to the association, the artist membership as a whole, and especially the viewers.

“It’s an entry point for some [emerging artists] and it’s the membership supporting the organization by others,” she said. “Often this show has a more playful aspect. People will send us things that are not normally in their own exhibition runs. Sometimes they’re testing boundaries. Sometimes they’re new to the organization.”

Because of the wide variety of new and old together with a lot of experimentation going on, it’s a lot like a visual smorgasbord of style and content. You’re sure to find something unexpected that you like, if not love. But don’t tell anybody about it. It’s just between you and me.

Diversity 2010 is also held in conjunction with The Works Art and Design Festival that will run from June 25 to July 7. More information on that can be found at www.theworks.ab.ca.