ABOUT
Hey, thanks for visiting.
I'm an artist based in Vancouver, BC, Canada. The work you'll find here is broad in media and approach. I'm often asked to define what I do, and, while it's a bit of a struggle, I've taken to summarizing it like this:
A lot of it is process-oriented, and site- or context-specific. I always work best when faced with a particular problem (for lack of a better word) and these pieces are the product of a variety of situations and opportunities. Whether it's postcards, sculpture or performance, the work reflects my interaction with a particular venue or situation. Recently this has led me to exploring public art and site-specific commissions.
Thematically the work often tries to explore the language of mass address. Advertisements, billboards, posters, signage, tourist paraphernalia, pop celebrities, and mass produced garments, all these have been of interest at one time or another. My work has been quite focused on exploring what room there is for personal engagement in all this cultural product.
I also work in the cultural sector as a programmer (currently with the Vancouver Art Gallery), administrator and volunteer. I consider this work to be an integral part of my life as an artist; I'm interested in the broad view, and my practice has always been supported and sustained by working with other artists and cultural producers.
BIO
Vanessa Kwan is a Vancouver-based artist and writer. Her work has been exhibited at a number of galleries and artist run centres, including solo exhibitions at the Or Gallery, Access, and the Art Gallery of the South Okanagan. She is a founding member of the arts collective Norma, and currently works as Public Programs Coordinator at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Two public art commissions (one in collaboration with Erica Stocking) for the City of Vancouver are forthcoming in 2010.
photo credit: Elaine Miller