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  CANADIAN WEST COAST HERMETICS  The Metaphysical Landscape

Forward to the Catalogue by Alvin Balkind

david uu: Inspired Dread
mixed media, 1971 


Edwin Varney: Untitled
 collage, 1972
 


 
 Gilles Foisy: Rebirth of William
collage, 1971


        In a book recently published in Vancouver there is, under the heading "Dedications," the
        statement: "Published without the help of Canada Council." So there. The same cannot be said for
        this catalogue on B.C. Hermetics. We do owe a debt to Canada Council, not only for making the
        catalogue possible, but also for helping Gregg Simpson to travel to Europe to help set up certain
        aspects of the exhibition. So there.

        We are deeply grateful to M. Guy Viau, the late and distinguished head of the Canadian Cultural
        Centre in Paris, whose initial interest and co-operation made the exhibition a concrete project of
        wider scope.

        The exhibition could not even have gotten started, much less have been realized, and later circulated,
        had it not been for Gregg Simpson, who conceived the idea, poured endless time and energy into
        organizing it and worked out the plans for taking it around to various European galleries.

        And finally, thanks to the participating museums, galleries and their directors for allowing us to show
        other parts of the world one of the aspects of West Coast Canadian art. Special thanks go to Mr.
        David Thompson, of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, and to Messrs. Jacques Asselin
        and Yves Pepin, of the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris.

      -Alvin Balkind, Director, Fine Arts Gallery, The University of British Columbia

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Chronology 1971-75

1965-70
1970
1971-75
1976-79

1980-85
1985-90
1991-93

1993-2010