Takao Tanabe: Printmaker

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Takao Tanabe, “ Nootka Afternoon,” 1993

woodblock print on paper (collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, photo courtesy of Vancouver Art Gallery)

Spring Opening and Ian M. Thom in Conversation: Saturday, April 13 | 6:30–9pm

Organized by the Kelowna Art Gallery with Guest Curator Ian M. Thom, this exhibition features over sixty prints by renowned artist Takao Tanabe from their collection, as well as Vancouver Art Gallery and Winnipeg Art Gallery’s collections.

Tanabe is among Canada’s most celebrated painters and printmakers, recognized for his landscapes that bridge the gap between abstraction and realism. This iteration of the exhibition will additionally feature selections from Surrey Art Gallery’s own permanent collection.  

As well as the tranquil, contemplative portrayals of the Gulf Islands and the Albertan plains for which he is widely known, the exhibition also includes screen-printed hard-edge colour abstractions from the 1960s, monotypes (single editions) of natural forms from the 1950s, and even some of the physical woodblocks used to produce his more recent prints.

Featured works include Prairie Storm (1979), a landscape that breaks broader conventions in printmaking by incorporating ink hand brushing techniques, and Nootka Afternoon (1993), a woodcut print that utilizes form and colour to depict a stillness between ocean and land.

This exhibition is organized by the Kelowna Art Gallery with Guest Curator Ian M. Thom. It is accompanied by an illustrated exhibition catalogue with essays by Guest Curator Ian M. Thom and Curator Christine May.

There will be two events in connection to Takao Tanabe: Printmaker including Exhibition Tour and Talk with Ian M. Thom and Sherri Kajiwara on Wednesday, April 24 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. andPeter Braune’s Talk and Printmaking Workshop on Saturday, May 11 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The Spring Opening reception on April 13 will feature a conversation between Ian M. Thom and Surrey Art Gallery Curator of Exhibitions and Collections Jordan Strom. Also opening at the Gallery this summer is ARTS 2024 (April 27–July 14), the annual juried showcase of the best in local artmaking, held in conjunction with the Arts Council of Surrey.

Exhibition Tour and Talk with Ian M. Thom and Sherri Kajiwara: Wednesday, April 24 | 7–8:30pm

Peter Braune’s Talk and Printmaking Workshop: Saturday, May 11 | 2–3:30pm