May 5th to 8th, 2022 – Vancouver, BC – Lisa Wolfin, the Director of Art Vancouver states “Uniting Nations through the power of art, one need look no further than this room come to life. No booth is alike, nor do we want them to be. Because Art allows us to explore and appreciate our differences rather than fear them, and it is that level of understanding that truly binds us together.”
My goal on Saturday, May 7th was to visit the booths of Claudia Wiebe (German Artist) and Stefan Rogenmoser (Swiss Artist). This event was held in the Vancouver Convention Centre West in Exhibition Hall A from Thursday evening to Sunday at 5 pm.
The first booth that I saw was the one run by North Vancouver Artist Claudia Wiebe. Her website is https://claudiawiebe.com/ and her complete portfolio can be seen here: https://claudiawiebe.com/portfolio/. In her own words: “My work is inspired by the ever-changing complexities of love and loss, and joy and grief… Life has taken me on many different roads, being a pediatric nurse, a caregiver, a mother, a wife, a teacher/mentor, and today an artist.” Amazing vibrant colours that are meant to ” evoke an emotional response or a memory in the viewer, leaving lots of room for their own imagination and interpretation.”
Then we made our way to the open floor booth belonging to Swiss Artist Stefan Rogenmoser. His goal is to “leave a message for our future generations by trying to create extraordinary art… I want to leave a statement.” His favourite piece of art that spoke to him was the “Mankind” sculpture who is biting his own foot: “Mankind” depicts the self-destructive nature in all of us. Destroying our environment means ultimately destroying ourselves. The picture on the right is a unique chess board with magnetic pieces. You can see everything here: https://simplyartist.com/.
We then met Artist German Agirre Raeder, who is not German, but from Peru. His grandmother was German, though, although he mainly speaks Spanish. He started his career in Arizona, but now lives in West Vancouver. German originally studied and pursued a career in Industrial Design, until he was inspired by the raw beauty of gems and minerals he found while living in Tucson, Arizona. https://www.aguirregerman.com/
Then it was time to enjoy random art pieces through the exhibit. There were over 100 artists and sculptors, as well as tables of sponsors, so there was plenty to see. The first picture below was from the Vangoghver Art Agency in Vancouver whose horse is entitled “Messenger of Peace” by Fahri Aldin. Apparently his horse had to wear a mask as he couldn’t get a vaccine… LOL.
The second picture in the middle shows the pictures of Banker/Artist Jenny Huang from Coquitlam who was especially fond of the three pictures in the middle of her booth. The one on top shows “Hero’s – to all health care professionals who worked so hard during the pandemic. The picture in the middle is the Tiger, to represent the year of the Tiger. The picture on the bottom depicts the doves of peace in the devastation of Ukraine.
The third picture is from Artist Tasha T. McNulty, which was probably my favourite of the exhibit and the one voted “most likely to hand on my wall at home.” https://tashamcnulty.com/
We also saw an artist, Christy Sverre, talk about a piece from her “Nautical Collection”. She lives in Gibsons and plans to sail all the way around Vancouver Island in 6 weeks. https://www.christysverre.com/nautical-collection
There were also unique and fun displays: the one on the top right you were able to put on special glasses and see the pictures turn into 3D versions of themselves. The ones on the right and left on the second row were all done with collage by Artist Alexasai: https://www.instagram.com/alexasai_artwork/
The Elon Musk picture above was created by an Art Collaboration between “Reinvent” and David X. Very mysterious. https://reinvent.com/art/
Some booths had simple displays, others were elaborate and called to the crowds. Some were artists representing themselves and other were part of organizations like the Sculptors Society of BC. The bottom row right statue (shown above) was done by Bruce Kleeberger: https://brucekleeberger.com/contact/. The dragon on the bottom row left could actually be seen breathing fire, although I missed it.
The middle picture above is a series entitled “Calm the Fear Down” or “Shut the Fear Up”. You could also buy a T-Shirt with the same sentiment on it. This was by Red Dear Artist Brandon Vallet. Perfect if you live with teenagers…
We had a blast and learned a lot and will come back next time. To see more videos and artists, just visit: https://www.artvancouver.net/exhibitor-list
All pictures were taken by me or my assistant Natalya Porter, who was there to help me as my personal photographer.
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