Canadian museum spotlights the art of skateboarding
Bracken Hanuse Corlett, ‘The Drop,’ 2022. Double projection, digital animation site-specific installation. Courtesy of the artist
WHISTLER, B.C. – Out of Control: The Concrete Art of Skateboarding invites skaters and non-skaters alike to reimagine their collective understanding of skateboarding and reflect on its contemporary relevance. This ambitious group exhibition at the Audain Art Museum (AAM), which is on view through January 8, 2023, brings together 19 artists from British Columbia as well as international artists who embody diversity in their practice and explore the aesthetic, social, environmental, political and architectural aspects of skateboarding.
“What skateboarders and contemporary artists have in common,” explained guest curator
Patrik Andersson, “is that they share a desire to observe, question and challenge their everyday environment.” Andersson envisions Out of Control as an “obstacle course that encourages visitors to navigate the show with similar attention to that required of a skater.” The intention is to help the museum-goer view skateboarding through a widened lens.
Amir Zaki, ‘Concrete Vessel 55,’ 2018. Archival pigment print, 60 by 75in. Courtesy of the artist
The exhibition features more than 60 works by Raymond Boisjoly, Karin Bubas, Andrew Dadson, Hannah Dubois, Noah Friebel, Tim Gardner, Dan Graham, Bracken Hanuse Corlett, Christian Huizenga, Mikaela Kautzky, Andrew Kent, Cameron Kerr, Alex Morrison, Michelle Pezel, Samuel Roy-Bois, Ron Terada, Ian Wallace, Amir Zaki and Raphael Zarka. “The playfulness of skateboarding is matched by an equally imaginative use of mediums,” said Andersson, with photography, painting, multi-channel video, site-specific installation, digital animation and sculpture among the mediums or “techniques of the observer” selected for the exhibition.
Hannah Dubois, ‘Ollie by Taylor,’ 2022.Duratrans print mounted in lightbox,26 by 38in framed.Courtesy the artist
The AAM’s Gail & Stephen A. Jarislowsky Curator Kiriko Watanabe and guest curator Patrik Andersson collaborated to develop the Out of Control exhibition and publication. “I wanted to organize an exhibition that builds strong links between visual arts and sports culture,” said Watanabe. “Tying to Whistler’s reputation as a world-class adventure paradise, Out of Control
is an important first initiative of its kind by the museum. By welcoming visitors to examine skateboarding from unique and diverse perspectives, we hope to leave a lasting impression that excites and inspires.”
Andrew Kent, ‘The Year Punk Broke,’ 2019. Acrylic on plywood, variable dimensions. Courtesy of the artist
Spanning two floors of the architecturally-stunning, Patkau-designed building, “Out of Control is the largest contemporary art exhibition in the museum’s six-year history,” said AAM Director & Chief Curator Dr. Curtis Collins. “The works on display will both address and engage an entirely new demographic that is central to the museum’s future.”
Visit the website of the Audain Art Museum and see its dedicated page for Out of Control: The Concrete Art of Skateboarding.
