Petley Jones Gallery
2235 Granville St. Vancouver B.C. V6H 3G1
Tel: 604-732-5353
Fax: 604-732-5669
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jennifer Johnson
Office: 604-732-5353
ART DEALERS BUCK TREND AND EXHIBIT ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM
Vancouver B.C., October 1, 2008--Art dealers Matt Petley Jones and Jennifer Johnson have gone against their fellow Vancouver art dealers’ longstanding aversion to abstract expressionist painting and will exhibit the works of prodigal Vancouver artist David Tycho.
“We don’t show it because we can’t sell it,” most private dealers claim. Johnson disagrees. “They don’t show it because they think Vancouverites aren’t sophisticated enough to handle this kind of edgy work. I don’t buy that. Good work is good work, and Vancouver will recognize that.”
The art dealers explain that Tycho had stopped exhibiting in Vancouver, and looked abroad for a more receptive audience. The artist has since exhibited in Geneva, Brussels, Seattle, Los Angeles and Manila, and his work is now collected worldwide.
Barabara MacAdam, deputy editor of ARTnews magazine identifies a trend. “Abstract painting has remained important in Europe, has gained popularity in Asia, and is undergoing a resurgence in New York. (It) is in the midst of a revival, flaunting its brilliant past as it reconfigures itself for the future…The resurgence could in part be a response to contemporary life—to globalization and the desire for a universal language.” Watch out Vancouver—abstract expressionism is at your back door.
The Petley Jones Gallery focuses on contemporary and historical Canadian, American and European art. Tycho’s exhibition, based on the dynamism of the Fraser and Columbia rivers, runs from October 23 to November 13. For further information, contact Matt Petley Jones or Jennifer Johnson at 604-732-5353.
