FROM THE VAULT
2024-10-03 10:00 - 2024-12-18 17:00 (America/Vancouver)
Featuring: Sophie Atkinson, Allan Brooks, Joe Plaskett, Paul Jones, Holly Middleton

Community GalleryOctober 3 – December 18, 2024

The Vernon Public Art Gallery (VPAG) is pleased to present From the Vault, an exhibition highlighting select works from its permanent collection, on display from October 3 to December 18, 2024. This showcase offers the public a rare opportunity to view pieces by influential artists with ties to the region, including Allan Brooks, Sophie Atkinson, Janet Holly Middleton, and Paul Jones, with additional works by renowned BC artist Joe Plaskett.

VPAG’s permanent collection consists of over 670 artworks by 154 artists. The earliest piece dates to 1909, while the latest acquisitions were made as recently as 2022. Each piece contributes to the story of the region’s artistic heritage and evolution.

Featured artist Allan Brooks (1869–1946), known worldwide as a naturalist and illustrator, made significant contributions to North American wildlife studies, especially of Canadian bird species. Brooks, honored by Canadian Heritage in 2000 as a person of Canadian Historical Importance, devoted his career to capturing the unique fauna of British Columbia and beyond.

Trailblazing artist Sophie Atkinson (1876–1972) was among the first women to document the Okanagan landscape in her work. After WWI, she traveled internationally before settling in Canada, where she painted commissioned works for the Canadian Pacific Railway. Her art captured the rugged beauty of Western Canada, establishing a legacy that would inspire future generations.

Janet Holly Middleton (1922–2018) combined her artistic talent with a passion for education. Her career included teaching positions at the University of Alberta, Banff School of Fine Arts, and University of Guelph, where she influenced countless Canadian artists. Known for her adventurous spirit, Middleton drew inspiration from her travels, producing works with scenes from across the globe.

Joe Plaskett (1918–2014) brought his artistic vision to an international stage, with works held in collections from Prince Edward Island to Vancouver Island, including the National Gallery of Canada. Plaskett’s talent was recognized early on by Lawren Harris, and he was awarded the first Emily Carr Scholarship in 1946. This opportunity took him from San Francisco to New York, and eventually to Paris, where he created some of his most celebrated pieces.

The exhibition also includes pieces by Paul Jones (1921–2018), a Vernon-based artist and writer who served on the VPAG board in the 1990s. Jones’s work integrates sand and acrylic resin to evoke the landscapes of his youth near the Pembina River, creating textured pieces that speak to both personal memory and place.

Sophie Atkinson, Oyama, 1948, watercolour on paper, 8 x 12 in

Paul Jones, Big Coulee, 1970, acrylic and sand on canvas, 32 x 52 in

Allan Brooks, Grosbeak/Waxwing, 1944, watercolour on paper, 7 x 10 in

Janet Holly Middleton, Untitled (Kalamalka Lake), 1976, oil on canvas, 23 x 43 in

Joe Plaskett, Untitled (Fraser River), 1971, chalk pastel on canvas, 18 x 24 in

Rewilding: The Forest Will Forget Us
2024-10-03 10:00 - 2024-12-20 17:00
Lyndal Osborne, John Freeman, Liz Ingram, Bernd Hildebrandt

Topham Brown Memorial GalleryOctober 3 – December 20, 2024

The exhibition Rewilding: The Forest Will Forget Us, created by Lyndal Osborne and John Freeman, and Liz Ingram and Bernd Hildebrandt, is an exhibit about the resilience of nature as witnessed in land sited on a boreal forest lake in Alberta. In the process they acknowledge the many other stories that go back millennia, and which have been shaped by people living and surviving on the land. These legends and beliefs are now re-emerging from oral histories of the original peoples of these lands and help us to shape our common existence within nature.

Photography: Digital Perfections

Exposed!
2024-10-17 10:00 - 2024-12-20 17:00 | Vernon Public Art Gallery, 3228 31st Ave, Vernon, British Columbia, V1T2H3, Canada
Members’ Exhibition

Caroline Galbraith Gallery & Up-Front GalleryOctober 17 – December 20, 2024

This group exhibition of artwork produced by the Vernon Public Art Gallery’s members give the public a view of a variety of different media used to create works of art in various artistic genres ranging from abstract art to landscapes, still lives, and portraiture.

Lake Louise, Serena Arsenault
