Peter Aspell: Saints and Sinners, Mystics and Madness, on now through March 26 at the West Vancouver Museum. For more information visit westvancouvermuseum.ca.
A key member of a group of artists that emerged in post-war Vancouver, credited for their contributions to the development of contemporary art, Peter Aspell charted his own path.
While painterly abstraction was the trend of the day, Aspell chose to focus on something else entirely.
"He was primarily concerned with the figure when he was painting in the 1950s. For a brief time he departed towards abstraction, but really came back to the figure. He either worked from models or he worked from memories or what he would say impressions of people. He would often depict a portrait, it may not be an actual person, but it may be a type, or a character type, and create a portrait of a person based on that impression," says Darrin Morrison, director and curator of the West Vancouver Museum.
Aspell's works were further informed by his interest in and continued exploration of art history and cultural references.
"He really expanded his vocabulary and in some ways that pursuit is what has made him stand apart from the prevailing trends in the Vancouver art scene," says Morrison.
Aspell's alternative approach is being celebrated in an exhibition that opened Tuesday at the West Vancouver Museum entitled Peter Aspell: Saints and Sinners, Mystics and Madness.
The show offers a unique opportunity to view Aspell's works as while he exhibited regularly in commercial galleries around the globe, it marks the first public gallery or museum exhibition dedicated to the artist, who lived for much of his life in the Lower Mainland before passing away in 2004, in 50 years.
"The museum has been exploring artists that were connected to the development of contemporary art in Vancouver. Peter is one of that group and certainly as an extension of the programming we've been offering around art and architecture, it was a good fit. And I've also always been interested in his work because it is quite distinct and I would say stands outside of what was prevailing trends in contemporary art in Vancouver in the 1950s," says Morrison.
Peter Aspell: Saints and Sinners, Mystics and Madness will remain on display through March 26 and it's one of two concurrent exhibitions focused on the artist being offered in the Lower Mainland this winter. The second, Peter Aspell: the Mad Alchemist, is being offered by the Richmond Art Gallery from Jan. 23 to April 3. The West Vancouver show features 27 of Aspell's works as well as some preliminary drawings, all of which were completed from the late-1980s through to the time of his passing.
"Peter, I would say, primarily was noted to be a master colourist. His use of colour was quite extraordinary, but also the sheer joy that I think he had with paint is quite evident in his work. At the same time, some of the subject matter, not all the time, but often had a dark undercurrent," says Morrison.
Aspell painted a number of works that were critical of abuses of power, for example those that featured images of industrialists, popes and cardinals, dictators, generals and other people of influence.
"They are not always flattering renditions," says Morrison.
The Richmond show will feature 19 works by Aspell, a number of which are much larger in scale than those being shown on the North Shore, partly due to space constraints but also just in light of the way the organization of that particular exhibition unfolded.
Working on the show has been enjoyable for Morrison, having given him an opportunity to engage with members of Aspell's family as well as various art collectors and lenders.
"People are passionate about Peter's work. Since we've announced the show and we've had some media coverage already, we've been contacted quite a bit from people that either studied under him or knew him or modelled with him, so it's really nice to see how these kinds of shows bring people together around this important period and around these artists who really did contribute in major ways to the development of the Canadian art scene," he says.
As part of the exhibition, the West Vancouver Museum is offering a guided bus tour to the Richmond Art Gallery Feb. 27, from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Led by the two exhibitions' curators, Morrison and Richmond director Rachel Rosenfield Lafo, participants will explore both the West Vancouver and Richmond shows, as well as stop for a dim sum lunch at the Shanghai River restaurant in Richmond. Cost: $45, visit westvancouvermuseum.ca.
