Emily Geen, BFA’12, Happy Birthday, oil paint on inkjet print, 42″ x 60″, UBC Okanagan Public Art Collection
What: Do I Know You? Alumni art exhibition
Exhibition dates: September 19-29, 9 am to 4 pm weekdays (closed weekends and holidays).
Opening Reception and Wine Tasting: Saturday, September 24th, 12:30 to 2:30 pm
Where: FINA Gallery, CCS Building, UBC Okanagan Campus
We are pleased to host Do I Know You?, an exhibition in the FINA Gallery featuring fine arts alumni from the Public Art Collection at UBC Okanagan. This exhibition is hosted by the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies (FCCS) in collaboration with UBC Okanagan Gallery, and alumni UBC as part of Homecoming 2022 at UBC Okanagan.
Do I Know You? explores the concept of a first impression and public personas through eight figurative and portrait artworks by UBC Okanagan fine arts alumni. Viewers are encouraged to examine works spanning photography, painting and drawing and ask themselves the questions: who exactly do you see?
The exhibition includes works of eight Bachelor of Fine Arts alumni including Jenny Long (BFA’03), Cherie Stocken (BFA’06), Christina Leinemann (BFA’06), Tia-Maria Soroskie (BFA’03), Cory Dixon (BFA’10), Emily Geen (BFA’12), Hans Lujan (BFA’12), and Laura Widmer (BFA’12).
UBC Okanagan’s Public Art Collection is managed by UBC Okanagan Gallery, and includes the work of MFA and BFA alumni, local, national, and international artists as well as an increasing inclusion of Indigenous artists from the Okanagan and surrounding region. Artworks from the Public Art Collection are displayed throughout the UBC Okanagan campus or are stored in the vault. Artworks from the collection are also available for loan by other museums and galleries. Recent local exhibitions include the 15 exhibition at the Kelowna Art Gallery (2021), and Ramble On collection exhibition at the Vernon Public Art Gallery (2022). The Public Art Collection educates, inspires, and enriches the campus and greater community.
This exhibition was curated by UBC Okanagan Gallery Curatorial Assistant Ryan Trafananko, and FCCS Communications Specialist Shauna Oddleifson, and is sponsored by alumni UBC.
“Having the work of our alumni as part of the Public Art Collection is one of the ways we can continue to support and keep connected with them,” says Oddleifson.
The collection has over 800 art works, as Trafananko explains, it was a challenge to select eight artists for exhibition.
“The Public Art Collection features a diverse breadth of artists, mediums and subject matter,” he says, “For Do I Know You? we looked through our database and collection storage to find eight unique figurative artworks across a variety of mediums by our talented fine arts alumni. This exhibition represents only a small portion of our growing Public Art Collection.”
The University of British Columbia Okanagan Gallery was formed as an umbrella institution to manage the FINA Gallery, Public Art Collection and the new downtown gallery space (opening in 2025).
Join us for the opening reception on Saturday, September 24th from 12:30 to 2:30 pm with a wine tasting from Kitsch Wines. Do I Know You? runs from September 19-29 and is open from 9 am to 4 pm weekdays (closed weekends and holidays).
Please note: This exhibition contains depictions of nudity.