We have been living in Vancouver for just over and year and finally last week took our first visit to the Vancouver Art Gallery (even though we’ve had our Membership cards for a month or more). While I do not consider myself knowledgeable about art, my main reason for deciding to finally visit the Art Gallery was to see the photographs of Vancouver artist Jeff Wall. I had seen articles in magazines and newspapers about his work but wanted to take advantage of the short opportunity to see the real thing. When we arrived at the Gallery entrance off of Hornby, the coat check was a welcome site as I wondered how hot I would be in my winter coat, gloves, scarf and hat that were necessary given the below normal temperatures.
We began at the main floor entrance where ‘WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution’ is currently exhibited and since I do not consider myself a feminist or an activist some of the value of this art was wasted on me. I was impressed by the sheer volume of female artists than worked during the period form 1965 to 1980. We made our way to the third floor and the Jeff Wall exhibit. His photographs were all presented as transparencies in light boxes. The color and clarity of the photos was increased by the light boxes and I was very intrigued by the images that the photographs portrayed. I only wish that more of his work was on display. We also spent time touring the works drawn from the gallery’s own collection and it was this exhibit that made me want to come back again at a later date when the theme had changed. I am also interested to see the exhibition that starts February 7th showing new work that is currently being produced in the province of British Columbia. Regular admission to the Vancouver Art Gallery is $17.50 but the gallery does offer by donation admission on Tuesday evenings from 5 to 9. I also do plan to go back during the warmer months to take advantage of the Gallery Café’s outdoor patio. I walked by in a hurry several times last summer and the large array of flowers made the setting look very inviting.
Of course, no night out for us would be complete without a visit to some type of food and beverage establishment. On this night we exited the Art Gallery and ran across Hornby into the back entrance of the Hotel Vancouver and straight into the 900 West Lounge. Like all other Fairmont hotel lounges 900 West is warm and welcoming with great big chairs that are always comfortable, good service and a great atmosphere. The hotel and the lounge are festively decorated at this time of year and the piano man played various renditions of both Christmas carols and lounge classics. The drink menu was featuring a Christmas theme and although I was still a bit chilly, the Eggnog Martini was delicious, and we decided to take a taxi the 10 blocks home anyway.
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