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V i s u a l a r t S I by llona Beiks This DISCOVERING HIDDE TREASURES IN PRIVA" NORTH SHORE COLLECTIOI summer, Wing Chow went f o rtreasure Lode. - a n dhe hiti Mother looking the It all b e g a n o n e year a g o - w i t h a c o n v e r s a t i o n between Ruth Payne, o f t h e Ferry Building J j Jj E Gallery, a n d G o r d o n Smith, o n e of C a n a d a ' s m o s t p r o m i n e n t a n d p r o l i f i c artists a n d f o u n d i n g H patron of Artists For K i d s Trust. "Gordon > ' | j r e m a r k e d t h a t h e w o u l d like t o s e e w o r l d - c l a s s C a n a d i a n art o n v i e w in a c o m m u n i t y setting like t h e Ferry B u i l d i n g . W h e n h e o f f e r e d t o h e l p put together a s h o w from private collections o n the North Shore - I j u m p e d . " Smith suggested W i n g C h o w curate the show. j; It's the first t i m e in Payne's tenure at the Gallery that s h e isn't c u r a t i n g t h e e x h i b i t . A t first, C h o w m a y s e e m like a n unlikely choice. He is n o t a c u r a t o r . H e is a n a r t i s t . B u t w h a t m a k e s h i m u n i q u e l y s u i t e d t o c u r a t e t h i s s h o w is his 28-year c a r e e r a s a d e d i c a t e d a n d p a s s i o n a t e e d u c a t o r (Carson G r a h a m Secondary.) significant art by significant artists - that r e q u i r e s ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ an educated choice. Arts Alive: this s h o w ? ^^^^^^B Arts Alive: The North Shore is h o m e to m a n y world-class collections. W h e r e d i d y o u start? H o w m u c h o f a role d i d being a n educator play in Chow: Because there are so m a n y collections a n d collectors, m a k i n g up a list t o start from w a s easy. M y a p p r o a c h w a s not the t r a d i t i o n a l a c a d e m i c curatorial a p p r o a c h . First I h a d to take into account the size of the b u i l d i n g a n d the l o c a t i o n . I k n e w it w a s g o i n g t o be a c h a l l e n g e distilling these p h e n o m e n a l collections to fit the gallery a n d l o c a t i o n . Chow: A very significant one. I think all great artists are educators in s o m e way. G o o d art s h o u l d force us to stretch. People w i l l be delighted by the pieces. They a r e v i s u a l l y s t i m u l a t i n g , i n t e l l e c t u a l l y e n g a g i n g , perhaps even c o n f u s i n g . W h i l e C h o w l a u g h s a n d d e s c r i b e s the s h o w as his version o f " C h o p Arts Alive: H o w d i d y o u choose, other than by scale? Suey," I'd have t o say it's m o r e like g e t t i n g a privileged g l i m p s e into the d e Beers v a u l t . This is a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o s a v o u r rarely v i e w e d Chow: The collections are eclectic a n d the s h o w w i l l reflect that. I tried to ferret o u t the pieces that have never b e e n seen, or rarely - by the public. W h a t they have in c o m m o n is a p a s s i o n for art a n d c o l l e c t i n g . Really, the s h o w is a celebration of the collections a n d the collectors. C a n a d i a n a n d International j e w e l s by: B.C. B i n n i n g , R o d n e y G r a h a m , Leslie Dili, Jin-me Y o o n , Patterson E w e n , Robert R a u s c h e n b e r g , Betty G o o d w i n , Stan Douglas, D a m i e n Hirst, Jean-Paul Roipelle, Gathie Falk, Paul d e G u z m a n , Dempsey Bob, E d w a r d Burtynsky, Joe Fafard, Robert D a v i d s o n , a n d A n d r e a s Gursky. I call t h e m t h e " M o d e r n M e d i c i s . " T h e s e a r e p e o p l e w h o buy art b e c a u s e they love art. They a r e n ' t b u y i n g vanity A n d W i n g ? N e x t t i m e y o u ' v e g o t C h o p Suey o n , call m e ! p i e c e s o r . . . " s o f a a r t . " This isn't a s e l f - i n d u l g e n c e . W i t h o u t t h e collector, artists c o u l d n ' t carry o n . It's a r e l a t i o n s h i p . This is w h a t s e p a r a t e s t h e s e collectors. T h e s e c o l l e c t i o n s c o n t a i n Find Hidden Treasures at the Ferry Building Gallery, September 10 -29