Elizabeth Hollick: Body Politic
to
Surrey Art Gallery 13750 88 Ave, Surrey, British Columbia V3W 3L1
Elizabeth Hollick, "Noise on the Job Site," 2015
acrylic on canvas
Opening Reception: April 14 | 6:30−9pm
Often startling and always colourful, the paintings by Elizabeth Hollick unite the human body with the world at large. Her solo exhibition Elizabeth Hollick: Body Politic is running at Surrey Art Gallery from April 14 to June 10. Hollick is celebrated throughout Surrey for her lively figurative paintings of local places, stories, and characters. For many years, she has also been fascinated by human anatomy, as well as the architecture and landscape of White Rock. With her signature humour, each painting in Body Politic portrays the connections between the privacy of the interior world and the development of society at large. Admission is free.
In a series of works titled Body Parts in Strange Places, impossibly large organs lie embedded in construction projects throughout the city. A damaged heart is excavated by road workers in an intersection; a skeleton holds aloft the roof of a skyscraper in progress; patchwork skin unfurls over the side of a newly built apartment. Works from this series are joined by other pieces from Hollick’s extensive catalogue, combining to portray the breadth of her imagination and whimsy.
Body Politic also includes key selections from Hollick’s immense collection of sketchbooks. Many of them are filled with precise renderings of local architecture and construction sites, drawn on the spot; others capture a wealth of emotionally stirring memorabilia associated with her late husband, whose hospitalization inspired her interest in the body and health. These drawings provide viewers with a rare glimpse into the techniques and creative vision of the artist.
Elizabeth Hollick is a painter and muralist based in White Rock. She studied visual arts at Croydon College of Art and St. Martin’s School of Art in London, England. She has created murals for buildings throughout White Rock, Surrey, and Vancouver, and is also known for her large-scale sand sculptures, created along with daughter Jo Hollick. She is a member of the Larger Than Life Drawing group and has been commissioned to draw Town Hall meetings for the Surrey Cultural Plan. Her works have been widely exhibited in solo and group shows throughout Metro Vancouver.
RELATED EVENT
Artists Talk and Opening ReceptionSaturday, April 14 | 6:30−9pm
Celebrate the opening of Elizabeth Hollick: Body Politic, along with our other spring exhibitions Flow: From the Movement of People to the Circulation of Information and Ben Bogart: Watching and Dreaming. Exhibiting artist Elizabeth Hollick will present a talk about her artworks at 6:30pm. The reception at 7:30pm will include a performance by Chun Hua Catherine Dong in partnership with local collective AgentC Projects called “Undocumented”. Dong’s performance evokes the experience of migration, the regulation of borders, and aesthetics of administration.