A Look Inside the Audain Art Museum

Amidst a thriving tapestry of flora and fauna, the Audain Art Museum is nestled in the woodlands of Whistler, British Columbia, a short jaunt from the village centre. To capture the artistic diversity of Canada’s westernmost province, the permanent collection writes a comprehensive history with carvings, paintings, and photography; canvases of Emily Carr’s signature plein air impressionism fill its expansive walls. The rotating exhibitions are similarly prolific: this winter, the gallery will feature works from the renowned Richmond, B.C.–based artist, Russna Kaur.

Kaur’s site-specific work is displayed brilliantly in the Audain Art Museum’s Upper Galleries entitled Pierced into the air, the temper and secrets crept in with a cry!. Kaur’s approach to painting involves spaces of infinite possibility, play, and experimentation. The exhibition unfolds as a dynamic series of modular works, where smaller paintings evolve into large-scale compositions, in a constant state of evolution. Kaur complicates her surfaces by incorporating a diverse array of materials, including canvas, textiles, spray paint, wood panel, acrylic paint, oil pastels, handmade paper, and 3D printed elements.

“This Special Exhibition offered the museum an opportunity to give a very important Vancouver artist on the rise an opportunity to manipulate the Upper Gallery, which is among the museum’s most architecturally stunning spaces,” says Dr. Curtis Collins, Director and Chief Curator at Audain. “The exhibition extended from the museum’s purchase of her work, They are midway between the sun and the moon in 2020.”

Through this work, Kaur explores how the surface of a painting and the abstraction of form might unearth narratives investigating complex personal and cultural histories. A core theme of Kaur’s exhibition is bold colour combinations, something that has become a throughline through her work. Vibrant hues draw inspiration from the spectacle of various gatherings, including amusement parks, community festivals, and religious spaces. The artworks will become sites of overstimulation, observance, and illusion.

As Kaur’s work illustrates, the Audain Art Museum is far from a traditional gallery. The space regularly features genre-defying, grassroots exhibitions like Out of Control: The Concrete Art of Skateboarding (2022-2023). Working closely with arts organizations, the museum contributes to the rich narrative history of B.C.’s art scene — for Vancouver’s Capture Photography Festival, Audain hosted The Extended Moment: Fifty Years of Collecting Photographs (2020) from the National Gallery of Canada.

It’s fitting, then, that the museum — named for founders Michael Audain and Yoshiko Karasawa — captures a unique blend of prestige pieces and boundary-pushing, contemporary work. In fact, the museum’s community focus can be traced to Audain’s early political career. As a special advisor to the Minister of Housing, Audain helped legislate social and cooperative domiciles throughout the province. Now, that same mindset applies to public art.

“For over 50 years, Michael Audain has been a leading supporter of the visual arts in B.C. as well as across Canada,” says Collins. “His art philanthropy has single-handedly raised the quality and profile of countless artists from this province.

After entering into an agreement with the Resort Municipality of Whistler, Audain and Karasawa donated buildings, development funds, and over 150 works from their private collection in support of the museum. These include 18th century First Nations mask carvings, one of the largest permanent collections of Emily Carr works, and contemporary media such as photography.

“Michael’s generosity has extended to both artists and institutions across B.C., in the form of his constant collection and donation activities, as well as funding both positions and spaces,” explains Collins. “Among his most prominent contributions is the annual Audain Prize, awarded to a B.C. artist each year that has achieved national or international recognition. It is now considered among the top visual arts prizes in Canada, with recipients awarded $100,000.”

Like British Columbia itself, the museum is at once forward-thinking and heritage-conscious; you’re just as likely to find historic carvings there as contemporary pieces of new media.

Case in point? On display until May 5, 2025, Curve! Women Carvers on the Northwest Coast, is an exhibition shining light on lesser-explored facets of Northwest Coast art, emphasizing women’s contributions to the rich tradition of carving wood and argillite. Curve! features 127 works of art that include poles, panels, masks, bowls, and other sculptures all intertwined with traditional knowledge. “This is the first time that carving by women on the Northwest Coast has been examined in such depth,” explains Collins. “It arcs over 75 years of artistic production, featuring works from private and public collections across Canada and the United States.”

Focusing on a selection of carvers active from the 1950s to present day, this exhibition highlights the pivotal role of women artists within the larger tradition of indigenous carving along the coast of British Columbia.

Even if every artwork were to vanish, the Audain Art Museum would still be a treat to behold. Designed as “a shadow amongst the trees,” the structure incorporates the surrounding environment, bringing Whistler’s natural beauty into defined, striking focus.

“The museum is perfectly integrated into the grove of trees that surrounds it, while offering visitors simple yet striking architectural lines,” says Collins. “Among the most prominent of the façade is the cutaway entrance that pulls visitors from the street into the museum’s unique exterior and interior spaces. The building was designed by Vancouver firm, Patkau Architects.”

Light pours through supersized windows, basking the artwork in Whistler’s natural, bright ecosystem. Illuminated by the sun, the surroundings draw parallels between the artworks and the environment; manifestation and inspiration. The museum intentionally blurs the line between art and ecology — with sustainability and integration being key guidelines for the museum’s construction.

Aside from its celebrated permanent collections and the pair of current exhibitions, the museum also has several community offerings, including Hatha Yoga every Thursday morning from 9:30am – 10:30am, which includes admission to the galleries on the day of the class. Inquisitive visitors can also join the museum’s weekly tour, where guides offer cultural context for each piece.

Russna Kaur: Pierced into the air, the temper and secrets crept in with a cry! is currently on display in the Upper Galleries until January 27, 2025, while Curve! Women Carvers on the Northwest Coast will display until May 5, 2025.

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