public
art
guide
Alan Wood
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
SFU Art Collection
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private
and public collections.
Highlights from
The Simon Fraser University Art Collection
at SFU Burnaby campus
Alan Wood
Alan Wood
1
Forest
Pagoda #3,Fraser
1990 University Art Collection is a
The Simon
public collection of over 5,500 works, many of which
SFU
Collection
areArtinstalled
within university buildings and public
spaces. Managed by SFU Galleries, the collection
was initiated in 1965 with the commission of two
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
tile
mosaics by Gordon Smith. The collection has
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
subsequently
to hues
encompass
a Wood’s
diversity
plywood
construction isgrown
painted in vivid
and is typical of
work.
Form
and
colour
in
these
reliefs
are
often
interpretations
of
of work, with particular strengths in painting,
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
photography,
and
by British
paper collage “studies.” prints
The title in this
case sculpture
suggests a reimagining
of
organic
materials,
interlocking
boughs
roots perhaps,
as more
formal Carr,
Columbia
artists,
such
asorB.C.
Binning,
Emily
arrangements.
Robert Davidson, Lawren Harris, Roy Kiyooka,
Ken
Lum, Bill Reid, Jeff Wall and Jin-me Yoon; and
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private and
Canadian
and American modern and contemporary
public collections.
artists, including Marcel Barbeau, Jack Bush, Jules
Olitski, Robert Morris, Robert Rauschenberg and
Jean Paul Riopelle. The SFU Art Collection also has
significant holdings of work by Jack Shadbolt and
holds copyright to his work. This guide presents a
selection of works in the SFU collection located at
the Burnaby campus.
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
walk one
SFU Art Collection
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
central
+ west campus
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
Works sited within the Academic Quadrangle,
Born in Lancanshire,
England,
Wood
(1935–) moved
to Vancouverinclude
in 1974. He’s had an active
Convocation
Mall
and
West
Campus
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private
someand
ofpublic
thecollections.
earliest works in the SFU Art
Collection, as well as our most recent acquisition.
This walk is outside and takes approximately
25 minutes.
1
Alan Wood
bridge beardslee
Energy Alignment Sculpture:
Pyramid in the Golden Section,
1976 oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
SFU Art Collection
steel and paint
SFU Art Collection
blusson1977
hall
saywell
Gift
of Ian Davidson,
hall
west mall centre
residences
dining
7 hall
visitor parkade
6
lorne davies complex
w.a.c.
bennett library
convocation
mall
sfu theatre
3
2
4
2
1
academic
quadrangle
maggie 5
benston
centre
south
sciences
building
highland court
tower road
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden
sculpture by Alan Wood.
bus
Adhered toloop
canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and isuniversity
typical
ofstreet
Wood’s
high
strand
hallForm and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
work.
annex
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
Situated paper
withincollage
a hedge-lined
enclosure,
Sculpture:
Pyramid of
in
“studies.”
The title Energy
in this Alignment
case suggests
a reimagining
applied
sciences
the Golden
Sectionmaterials,
is a centralinterlocking
work in theboughs
Academic
Quadrangle.
for an
organic
or roots
perhaps,Produced
as more formal
sciences
exhibition
at
the
Vancouver
Art
Gallery
and
installed
at
SFU
in
1977,
Beardslee’s
arrangements.
irmacs
pyramid – an open, tubular steel frame painted a vivid shade of cerulean blue – is
carefully
positioned
to align with the rotation of the earth’s axis and the North Star.
technology
&
Born
in Lancanshire,
England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
science
complex
i
practice
from
the
1960s
through
to the present
and hisPyramid
work is held
in numerous
private
both form and spirit, Energy
Alignment
Sculpture:
in the
Golden Section
and public collections.
In
is an apt compliment to the adjacent mounded earth pyramid designed by
architect Arthur Erickson. Erickson’s pyramid, and Bridge Beardslee’s pyramid
– built to the same proportions of the Cheops pyramid in Egypt – both speak to
a heightened interest at the time in the monumental works of ancient peoples.
In its early years, Energy Alignment Sculpture: Pyramid in the Golden Section attracted
unlikely controversy. A debate regarding the correct position required to activate
the pyramid’s “power” played out in the pages of the student newspaper and
students saw fit on several occasions to “realign” the pyramid – setting it on top of
the mounded earth pyramid and the student union building for example, before
it was cemented in its current location.
Beardslee studied industrial design at the University of Illinois and then moved
to California and worked on the Polaris Missile Project at Lockheed, while
at the same time developing an innovative casting process he used to produce
architectural sculptures.
2
Alan Wood
3
gordon
smith
1
jacques huet
Mosaic Mural, 1964
Forest Pagoda #3, 1990
Arc de Triomphe, 1967
Venetian
tile media on canvas and wood
oil and mixed
SFU Art Collection
aluminum with
cement
oil and
mixedbase
media on canvas and wood
SFU
Art Collection
Commissioned,
1964
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
Within the Academic Quadrangle are two brightly coloured tile mosaics by
Gordon Smith, a Vancouver painter who was a friend and sometimes collaborator
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
of SFUfrom
architect
Arthur
Though
Smith
is well
knownprivate
for his
practice
the 1960s
throughErickson.
to the present
and his work
is held
in numerous
and abstract
public
collections.paintings, in the 1960s he began to experiment with op art, flatness
expressionist
and hard-edged line. The tile mosaics were installed when the campus was built in
1965 and were the first two works of art acquired by Simon Fraser University. The
organic forms – bold vermilion orbs set against aqueous blue-green backgrounds
– are meant to symbolize energy and growth.
Gordon Smith (1919–) was born in England and moved to Canada at the age of
15. He studied at the Vancouver School of Art with notable local artists: Jack
Shadbolt, B.C. Binning, Charles H. Scott and Grace Melvin. Best known as a
painter and a printmaker he also produced a number of murals for public sites
including the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, the MacMillan Bloedel Building and
the Vancouver Law Library. He has participated in numerous exhibitions and
his work is held in public and private collections including the Art Gallery of
Ontario, the National Gallery of Canada, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the
Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Institute, the Carnegie Institute, the
Vancouver Art Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Alan Wood
SFU Art Collection
SFU ArtBrien,
Collection
Gift of Jacqueline
1999
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private
and public collections.
North of Convocation Mall outside the Academic Quadrangle is an aluminum
sculpture by Jacques Huet. The rough, abstracted figure suggests the blockish
form of a horse and rider. Given the title of the work, it is a reference perhaps to
the tradition of equestrian sculptures monumentalizing important men, or more
specifically, the low relief carvings on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Huet (1932–2009) was a self-taught Montreal sculptor who worked in wood,
aluminum, bronze and plexiglass. Over the course of his career he participated
in many exhibitions and produced public works for sites including Orford
Arts Centre, Ministère des Travaux Publics du Québec, Henri-Bourassa subway
station in Montreal, Centre hospitalier Côte-des-Neiges in Montreal, and Maison
des Arts de Laval.
4
5
elza
mayhew
1
buell mullen
Alan Wood
Guardian II, 1967
Forest Pagoda #3, 1990
bronze
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
SFU Art Collection
SFU
Artthe
Collection
Gift of
Rothmans of Pall Mall
Alan Wood
Theatres of the World, 1964–65
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
stainless steel, nickel, gem stones, paint
SFU Art Collection
Gift of International Nickel Company of
Canada Ltd., 1965
SFU Art Collection
Canada Ltd., 1967
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private and
public collections.
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private
and public collections.
South of Convocation Mall outside the Academic Quadrangle is a small, bronze
sculpture by Elza Mayhew. Born in Victoria, Mayhew travelled extensively and
her modernist sculptures often recall the ancient architectural and monumental
forms that she’d seen in Asia, Europe and Central America. The incised lines
and recessed, geometric sections of Guardian II for example, reflect interests in
hieroglyphics, the bas-relief carving of the ancient Assyrians, and most notably
in this case, Mayan stelae.
Mayhew (1916–) studied French and Latin at the University of British Columbia
and returned to a career in art later in life, completing her MFA at the University
of Oregon in 1963. She has shown her work internationally and was selected to
represent Canada at the 1964 Venice Biennale. Her work is held in the collections
of the University of Victoria, the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, the National
Gallery of Canada, Brock University and Confederation Centre.
In the lobby of the Simon Fraser University Theatre are two murals by Chicago
artist Buell Mullen. Mullen developed a method of working on stainless steel –
roughing up the surface with a wire brush and then painting with a specially
ground epoxy paint – and produced a number of stainless steel murals for private
and public buildings. The Theatres of the World murals were created during the
construction of the theatre in 1964, a gift to the University from the International
Nickel Company (Inco). Notwithstanding forms on the outer edges evoking
the open curtains of a stage, the murals are brightly-coloured, abstract works
encrusted with quartz, gold nuggets and other minerals indigenous to the area.
Mullen (1901–1986) was born in Chicago and studied at the British Academy. Bestknown as a muralist she also exhibited work at Salon, Gruppo Moderno and the
Chicago Art Institute.
7
6
Alan Wood
peter
hide
1
North Face, 1989–1990
Forest Pagoda #3, 1990
welded steel, stained, varnished
SFU Art Collection
Gift of David M. Campbell, 1982
Alan Wood
damian moppett
aluminum and paint
Large Painting and Caryatid Maquette
in Studio at Night (Sculpture Version), 2012
Gift of the artist, 2013
SFU Art Collection
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
SFU Art Collection
SFU Art Collection
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private and
public collections.
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private
and public collections.
North Face is a large welded steel sculpture installed in the courtyard of West
Mall Centre by Peter Hide. Born in Surrey England, Hide (1944–) undertook
studies at the Crodon College of Art and St Martin’s School of Art, where he
was a pupil of Anthony Caro, before relocating to Edmonton in 1977 to teach
at the University of Alberta. Working in the modernist tradition of welding
scrap steel, his works are distinguished by their emphasis on weight, mass and
monumental vertical form.
Hide’s work can be found in the collections of the Edmonton Art Gallery, Glenbow
Institute, Mendel Art Gallery, MacDonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, Agnes
Etherington Art Gallery, Kitchener Art Gallery, and the Tate.
Installed on the south side of the SFU Residences Dining Hall, is Damian
Moppett’s Large Painting and Caryatid Maquette in Studio at Night (Sculpture
Version). In this work the artist has transformed a painting of his studio into
a three-dimensional space, taking abstracted shapes of canvases, lights and
sculptures-in-progress and reproducing them as large-scale cutouts in painted
aluminum, such that the final work presents the artist’s studio as a stage set.
Originally commissioned by the Vancouver Art Gallery for their OFFSITE
space, the work has been reconfigured for SFU.
Moppett is a Vancouver based artist who studied at Emily Carr College of Art and
Design (now University) and received his MFA from Concordia University. His
work has been exhibited at Carleton University Art Gallery, Temple Gallery, Tyler
School of Art, Contemporary Art Gallery, National Gallery of Canada, Witte de
With, Vancouver Art Gallery, The Power Plant, Rennie Collection and the Morris
and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, among others.
Alan Wood
1
Forest Pagoda #3, 1990
walk two
robert c.
brown hall
arts
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
SFU Art Collection
SFU Art Collection
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
w.a.c.
work.
Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretationsbennett
of
library
est mall
centre
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper
collage
The title
in this case suggests a reimagining of
inside
the“studies.”
academic
quadrangle
transportation
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formalconvocation
mall
centre
arrangements.
This short walk along the north concourse of
sfu theatre
Born
in Academic
Lancanshire, England,Quadrangle
Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver
in 1974. He’sa
had
an active
the
number
campus highlights
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private and
security
public collections.
of works from the SFU Art Collection.
s complex
s
Alan Wood
education
building
saywell
hall
1
3
2
5 Strand
7 lobby
4
6
In the
of
Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered
to
canvas
and
hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
10 9
8
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
strand
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production
hall of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements. academic
quadrangle
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private
and public collections.
sciences
terry fox
field
south
sciences
building
technology &
science complex 2
1
2
Alan Wood
susan
point
1
Written in the Earth, 2000
Forest Pagoda #3, 1990
cast aluminum and red cedar
On loan from the collection of George and Christiane Smyth
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
SFU Art Collection
Alan Wood
jim hart
Frog Constellation, 2000
cedar
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
Collection of Bill Reid Foundation
SFU Art Collection
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private and
public collections.
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private
and public collections.
Installed in the atrium at the northeast corner of the Academic Quadrangle is
Written in the Earth, four aluminum and cedar works by Susan Point. The designs,
featuring faces flanked by animals, represent the diversity of world cultures.
Blue Herons (2008), a series of carved wooden panels installed in the Technology &
Science Complex I, are also by Point.
Point (1952–) is a Coast Salish artist from Musqueam Nation. She’s produced a
number of prominent works for public sites including Musqueam Welcome
Figures (1996) and Flight (Spindle Whorl) (1995) at the Vancouver International
Airport and People Amongst the People (2008) at Brockton Point in Stanley Park.
Her work is held in many public and private collections and she has been the
recipient of numerous honours and awards including an honorary degree from
Simon Fraser University.
Outside the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography is Frog Constellation, a
large cedar carving by Jim Hart depicting a man and a woman on the back of
a giant frog. As a creature that moves between worlds, the frog is a powerful
symbol for the Haida and a family crest of the Eagle clan. The work was inspired
by a smaller shamanic object, carved by an unknown Haida artist in the 1870s,
that the artist saw in a photograph. In 2007 Frog Constellation was acquired
by the Bill Reid Foundation and the Bill Reid Centre for Northwest Coast Art
Studies at SFU.
Hart (1952–) was born in Massett and currently lives and works in Vancouver and
Haida Gwaii. He began carving in the late 1970s, apprenticing first with Robert
Davidson and then with Bill Reid in the early 1980s. An established Haida artist,
Hart has produced a number of significant commissions and his work can be
found in public collections around the world.
3
Alan Wood
1lynn
vardeman
4
Alan Wood
john innes
Northern Light, 1983
Forest Pagoda #3, 1990
Six Paintings
polyester
resinmedia on canvas and wood
oil
and mixed
SFU Art Collection
SFU
Art Collection
Purchase,
1984
oil on canvas
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
SFU Art Collection
Art Collection
Gift of Post SFU
#2 Native
Sons of
British Columbia, 2004
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
In the reflecting pool outside the north concourse of the Academic Quadrangle
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
is a pinkish
that atto the
first
glance,
appears
to in
benumerous
a rock,private
but is
practice
from theform
1960s through
present
and his
work is held
andin fact a
public
collections.
polyester
resin sculpture by Vancouver artist Lynn Vardeman. Known primarily
as a filmmaker and photographer, Vardeman began to work with sculpture in
the early 1980s. She was particularly interested in experimenting with resin
casting and the capacity of resin to transmit light and reflect colour.
Born in Chicago, Vardeman studied art in San Francisco before moving to
Vancouver in 1968 to do graduate work at the Vancouver School of Art (now
Emily Carr University of Art and Design). Vardemann taught for many years in
the department of visual arts at SFU.
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
John Innes (1863–1941) was born in London, Ontario but moved West,
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
working practice
as a surveyor
Rail in
thepresent
1870s and
andhissettling
in Vancouver
the
from the for
1960sCP
through
to the
work is held
in numerous in
private
early 1880s.
He
worked
largely
as
a
commercial
illustrator,
depicting
Western
and public collections.
landscapes and scenes derived from his personal experiences as a frontiersman
and cattle wrangler. In 1924 Innes was commissioned by the Native Sons of British
Columbia, a fraternal organization that worked to promote local histories, to
produce a series of eight paintings depicting historical events in British Columbia.
These paintings were acquired by SFU in 2004 and hung in the north concourse
of the Academic Quadrangle. The works, which in many cases presented
European explorers as sovereign authority figures, reflected ways of thinking
about history and the settlement of British Columbia that were out of step
with contemporary views of colonization. Students and faculty successfully
lobbied university administration to remove Alexander Mackenzie Recording
His Arrival at the Pacific, A.D. 1793 and James Douglas Building the Hudson’s Bay
Post at Victoria, A.D. 1843, two of the more controversial paintings. The Innes
paintings continue to hang in the north concourse as a reminder of these layered
histories and the lessons these histories bear.
5
6
Alan Wood
charles
comfort
1
British Columbia Pageant, 1951
Forest Pagoda #3, 1990
oil on canvas
SFU Art Collection
Gift of Toronto Dominion Bank, 2003
Alan Wood
d’arcy henderson
[Negative #1] Adam/Eve, 1969
fiberglass
SFU Art Collection
Purchase, 1970
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
SFU Art Collection
SFU Art Collection
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
Born
in Lancanshire,
England, is
Wood
(1935–) moved
Vancouver
in 1974. He’s
had anand
active
British
Columbia Pageant
a 21-metre
longto mural
depicting
events
narratives
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private and
within
the founding and settlement of the province. Originally commissioned
public collections.
by the TD Bank for their branch at the corner of Granville and Pender, the mural
shows a meeting between Spanish explorers and Nootka Chief Maquinna, the
arrival of Captain Vancouver, and artist Emily Carr, against a backdrop of images
of exploration, logging, and a modern city skyline.
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private
and public collections.
Comfort (1900–1994) was a Canadian artist who was active in the 1930s and 1940s.
He developed a reputation as a painter of murals, producing panoramic paintings
and carved friezes for the Arts & Letters Club in Toronto, The Toronto Stock
Exchange, and Central Station in Montreal.
When British Columbia Pageant was installed at SFU in 2004 it met with controversy
for its depiction of a history that begins with the arrival of Europeans and its
promotion of industry. Some referred to British Columbia Pageant as “monumental
kitsch” while others suggested the mural promoted a “retrograde history.”
Student-led efforts to formulate a response to the Comfort mural are evident in
“anti-colonial” artworks installed opposite the painting.
Below British Columbia Pageant is [Negative #1] Adam/Eve, a minimal black
sculpture of a large circular form, split and divided in the middle, by D’arcy
Henderson. Henderson began his career as a photographer whose interest in
illuminating textured surfaces – fiberglass and flaked glass for example – led
him to produce three-dimensional forms. Taking leave of photographic ends,
sculptural works such as [Negative #1] Adam/Eve were designed to be defined
and shaped by light.
Henderson (1940–2002) was born in Princeton, BC and studied at the Vancouver
School of Art. He was an active member of the Vancouver arts community in
the 1960s and 1970s, teaching at Emily Carr College of Art, Capilano College
and the University of British Columbia, and participating in exhibitions at the
Art Gallery of Ontario, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Burnaby Art Gallery, Surrey Art
Gallery and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. His work is held in the collections
of Vancouver Art Gallery and University of British Columbia.
7
8
bill
reid
1
nate woodbury
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
mixed media
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
plaster on marble pedestal
SFU
SFU Art
Art Collection
Collection
(wood, metal, fur, paint, newspaper, tape)
SFU Art Collection
SFU Art Collection
Gift of Allan and Faigie Waisman, 2002
Gift of SFU Anti-Colonialism Society, 2005
Alan Wood
Bear Mother, 1991
Forest
#3,1991
1990
DogfishPagoda
Woman,
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic
materials,
or roots
perhaps,
more formal
Dogfish Woman
andinterlocking
Bear Mother boughs
are elements
taken
fromas
another
sculpture, The
arrangements.
Spirit of Haida Gwaii (1986) – an iconic work by Haida artist Bill Reid commissioned
by architect Arthur Erickson for the courtyard of the Canadian Embassy in
Born
in Lancanshire,
WoodInternational
(1935–) moved toAirport
Vancouvercommissioned
in 1974. He’s had a
ansecond
active cast of
Washington.
TheEngland,
Vancouver
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private and
the
work which is permanently installed in the international terminal. The work
public collections.
also appears on the back of the Canadian twenty dollar bill.
Alan Wood
Teen BC, 2005
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private
and public collections.
Dogfish Woman and Bear Mother are well-known beings within Haida culture
and figure prominently in oral history and material culture. Dogfish Woman
– a mythic figure, distinguished in traditional Haida design by a hooked beak that
signifies her transformative powers, and a labret in her lower lip – was a favourite
subject of Reid’s and his treatment here is both elegant and imaginative – with
the stylized nose of the shark reconfigured as a crown. Reid’s portrayal of Bear
Mother, a Haida woman who becomes the mother of cub children, is depicted
with a smooth, human face and stylized fur.
As conveyed in the adjacent wall text, this grouping of works installed in the
north concourse of the Academic Quadrangle stemmed from the efforts of
SFU student groups who protested the public installation of other works in
the hallway: namely the John Innes paintings and the Charles Comfort mural.
Between September 2004 and February 2005 students organized a number of
panel discussions, lectures and performances and hosted a contest for AntiColonial Art, the winners of which were displayed in the Museum of Archaeology
and Ethnology.
Reid (1920–1998) was born in Victoria and trained as a jeweller at Ryerson
Polytechnical Institute and the London School of Design. After seeing bracelets
carved by his great uncle, Charles Edenshaw, Reid became a dedicated student
of Haida art and is often cited as the single most important figure in the late
twentieth-century renaissance of Haida culture.
Teen BC by Nate Woodbury was selected as one of the winning works. The roughhewn mask is adorned with salvaged wood, bullets and a rail tie and painted with
a minimal formline design. The back of the mask however has been collaged with
photographs of faces and intercut with bars, effectively preventing the mask
from being worn.
9
10
edgar
heap of
1
birds
a.s. matta
Alan Wood
Forest
Pagoda
#3, 1990
Insurgent
Message
for
oil
and mixed2006
media on canvas and wood
Canada,
Alan Wood
Civilization is a Crime
Scene, 2005
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
SFU Art Collection
digital print on paper
lithograph on paper
SFU Art Collection
SFU Art Collection
SFU Art Collection
Gift of SFU Anti-Colonialism Society,
Purchase, 2008
2005
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private and
public collections.
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private
and public collections.
Edgar Heap of Birds (1954–) is an internationally recognized Cheyenne artist
who gained attention for a number of political, site-specific public signage
projects in the 1980s and 1990s. Native Hosts (1991–2007), a series of signs
installed at the University of British Columbia campus for example, is also
by Heap of Birds. Heap of Birds participated in the Cedar Table series of panel
discussions, organized by SFU students in response to the installation of the
Charles Comfort mural.
Insurgent Message for Canada was part of a series of works produced for Grunt
Gallery, a Vancouver artist-run centre, and Nuit Blanche, Toronto. The work
was installed on billboards and bus stops throughout Vancouver and Toronto.
A.S. Matta’s comic-inspired work was selected as a winning entry in an AntiColonial Art Contest, organized by students in response to the installation
of the Charles Comfort mural and the John Innes paintings. The drawings
and photographs portrayed in the black and white lithograph juxtapose
monumental statuary, colonial soldiers and royal monarchs, with images
of machines and modern cities. Matta’s imagery directly mirrors the subject
matter of the Comfort mural and the Innes paintings, but the handwritten
narrative and graphic style – resembling a page torn from an anarchist zine
perhaps – assert a critical revisioning of these histories, and oppose the
grandness of the historical painting tradition, with a countertradition of
creative political writing, commentary and satire.
Alan Wood
Alan Wood
1
Forest Pagoda #3, 1990
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
walk three
SFU Art Collection
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
west
mall centre
natural phenomena, generally
distilled
through the production of torn
paper
collage
“studies.”
The
title
in
this
case suggests a reimagining of
7
east campus
transportation
visitor
parkade
organic
materials,
interlocking boughs or roots perhaps,
as more formal
centre
8
arrangements.
lorne davies complex
ning
campus
hall
security
This walk winds through a number of buildings
and
courtyards
on(1935–)
themoved
east
side of
campus
Born in Lancanshire,
England, Wood
to Vancouver
in 1974.
He’s had an active
practice shell
from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private and
house
public
collections.
including
the Djavad Mowafaghian Court and
residence
owan
e
courtyards
located terry
outside
of the Academic
fox
recreation
field
& athletics
Quadrangle.
This walk takes approximately
25 minutes.
field no 2
tennis
courts
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
SFU Art Collection
1
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden
sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on saywell
the wall likeblusson
a painting, the stacked
hall
hall
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
strand
bus of torn
natural phenomena, generally
distilled
2 through the production
hall
loop
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
academic
arrangements.
strand hall
quadrangle
annex
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
practice
from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private
4
shrum
and public collections.
science
5
centre
sciences
applied
sciences
building
irmacs
south
sciences
building
technology &
science complex 2
technology &
science complex i
3
1
2
sorel
etrog
1
alan wood
Alan Wood
Crusader II, 1976
Forest
Pagoda1976
#3, 1990
Ritual Head,
oil
and mixed media
on canvas and wood
Steptease,
1976
SFU Art Collection
bronze
Alan Wood
Forest Pagoda #3, 1990
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
SFU Art Collection
Gift of Steven Bronfman, 2003
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
SFU Art Collection
SFU Art Collection
Gift of the artist, 2012 / 2006 / 2009
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private and
public collections.
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private
and public collections.
The three bronze statues installed in Saywell Courtyard are by Sorel Etrog,
a Romanian-Canadian artist known for his large, abstract sculptures.
Commencing his studies in Israel in the early 1950s and subsequently
moving to New York, Etrog’s visual language was forged through interests
in Surrealism and close study of anthropological collections held in New
York museums. Etrog moved to Toronto in 1963 where he established himself
as a prominent figure within Canadian modern art. His forms register as
levers, hinges and blades, but also resonate as limbs and lobes – articulating
correlations between body and machine, but also mind and matter, memory
and language.
Etrog (1933–2014) represented Canada at the 1966 Venice Biennale and his work
has been included in shows at Carnegie International, Museum of Modern Art,
Guggenheim and Centre Pompidou. Another public work by Etrog entitled King
and Queen is permanently installed at Harbour Green Park in Coal Harbour.
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked plywood
construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s work. Form
and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of natural phenomena,
generally distilled through the production of torn paper collage “studies.”
The title in this case suggests a reimagining of organic materials, interlocking
roots or boughs perhaps, as more formal arrangements.
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s
had an active practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is
held in numerous private and public collections.
3
Alan Wood
michael
dennis
1
Man, 1998
Forest Pagoda #3, 1990
4
cedar, wood and stone
SFU Art Collection
Gift of the artist, 2011
Alan Wood
alan chung hung
The Faces vs Edges Series, 1981
steel
On longterm loan
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
SFU Art Collection
SFU Art Collection
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private and
public collections.
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private
and public collections.
Michael Dennis’s Man is a large sculpture of a hammer situated outside the
Technology & Science Complex I. The artist often produced large forms
from wood left behind by loggers that in some cases are carved to suggest
anthropomorphic forms. Reclining Woman (1992) for example, is another work
by Dennis situated outside the southeast corner of the Academic Quadrangle,
that’s been lightly shaped to suggest a human form. Some have speculated
that Reclining Woman is a mate to another work by Dennis located in a Mount
Pleasant park. In 2013, the park took the vernacular title of that sculpture as its
name, and is now affectionately known as Dude Chilling Park.
Dennis (1941–) was born in Los Angeles and was a professor of neurophysiology
at the University of California at Berkeley before turning to art in the 1980s.
Dennis has lived on Denman Island for many years and his sculptures are made
with wood sourced on Vancouver Island.
Known in Vancouver for his outdoor sculptures Monument to George Vancouver
(1980) in Vanier Park and Red Spring (1981) at Robson Square, Alan Chung Hung
created this piece for a 1982 exhibition at the Charles H. Scott Gallery called
Infinity vs. Limit A Non-mathematical Dialogue of Self-Identity. Installed in an
exterior courtyard off the south concourse of the AQ The Faces vs Edges Series
documents what happens to the cube as the square edges are successively
rounded off and the six faces are reduced to two, the twelve edges to one.
Chung Hung (1946–1994) was born in Canton, China and studied civil engineering
at Chu Hai University in Hong Kong. He moved to Vancouver in 1969 and studied
at the Vancouver School of Art.
5
Alan Wood
Bust
of Mahatma Gandhi, 1969
1
bronze
Forest Pagoda #3, 1990
Gift of the East Indian Community
oil and mixed media on canvas and wood
SFU Art Collection
of British Columbia, 1970
SFU Art Collection
In the lobby of Strand Hall is a large wooden sculpture by Alan Wood.
Adhered to canvas and hung on the wall like a painting, the stacked
plywood construction is painted in vivid hues and is typical of Wood’s
work. Form and colour in these reliefs are often interpretations of
natural phenomena, generally distilled through the production of torn
paper collage “studies.” The title in this case suggests a reimagining of
organic materials, interlocking boughs or roots perhaps, as more formal
arrangements.
Born in Lancanshire, England, Wood (1935–) moved to Vancouver in 1974. He’s had an active
practice from the 1960s through to the present and his work is held in numerous private and
public collections.
Outside of the south concourse of the Academic Quadrangle, in Simon Fraser
Peace Square, is a bust of Mahatma Gandhi that was donated to SFU in 1970.
Each year on his birthday, October 2, the Gandhi Jayanti celebration brings
together members of the local Indo-Canadian community and others who wish
to honour Gandhi’s memory. Since 1991, the university has also presented the
Thakore Visiting Scholar Award to outstanding individuals who have made the
well-being of society their life’s work.
Academic Quadrangle 3004
8888 University Drive
Burnaby, BC
Canada V5A 1S6
778.782.4266
sfugalleries@sfu.ca
sfugalleries.ca