The Reach Gallery Museum Abbotsford is presenting three visual art and two historical exhibitions opening June 28 at 7 p.m.
Zidane, A 21st Century Portrait combines soccer and contemporary art and is an opportunity to observe one of the century’s most famous players (France’s Zinedine Zidane) through an almost idolizing portrait.
Internationally renowned artists Douglas Gordon – born in Glasgow, Scotland – and Philippe Parreno, from Oran, Algeria, deploy contemporary conventions of mass media both to paint a portrait of the soccer star and to expose the cultural creation and fascination of heroes.
Seventeen cameras were positioned throughout the stadium and a team of camera operators were directed to remain fixed on soccer star Zidane throughout the soccer match. Zidane was a member of the French national soccer team that won both the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the Euro 2000 Championship.
Gordon and Parreno’s intense survey of the sports hero gives viewers a sense of insight into his inner character, as it examines the cult of celebrity and questions the image as commodity.
Zidane is a highly experimental portrait that fuses familiar media and genres resulting in a radically different experience of spectatorship. This exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Canada.
• The Ties That Bind, organized and circulated by the Jewish Museum & Archives of BC, documents Jewish settlement in BC from 1858 when the first immigrants arrived in Victoria. They were enticed by the opportunities that the Fraser River gold rush provided and religious and cultural freedom. Interactive areas will allow visitors to test their knowledge of Yiddish and examine ideas about Jewish issues that are relevant to all cultures. This is presented by Lohn Foundation.
• Making News, Making History marks the 90th anniversary of the Abbotsford News by chronicling the history of The News and the events in the history of our community captured in its pages.
• Molten Obsessions showcases contemporary glass bead-making and marks the seventh exhibit of new and experienced glass bead-makers. These artists push the traditional boundaries of bead-making with a focus on individual style and experimentation. The exhibit features art glass beads on their own, as well as art glass beads used in finished jewelry or sculptural work.
• Procession, new work from Jeff Sawatzky is a series of charcoal drawings reworked and applied to wooden panelling which was sourced from post-consumer facilities.
All shows run from June 28 to Sept. 9 at the Reach, 32388 Veterans Way, Abbotsford.
An opening reception will take place on Thursday, June 28 at 7 p.m. The public is invited to attend.