BEN REEVES YACHT ROCK
September 7th – September 21st
In his latest body of work, Ben Reeves constructs landscapes filled with a sense of leisure found in the Canadian outdoors: windsurfing, paddleboarding, sailing, skiing and skating. His gesturally painted vignettes are perpetually sun-kissed and invite us to recall our own fond memories of similar activities with their intense pink, blue and yellow hues.
The title of the show, YachtRock , is derived from the genre of music synonymous with the Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, Toto and Canada’s own Gordon Lightfoot. Its discography includes much-loved anthems like “Long Train Runnin’” and “Hold the Line”, songs suffused with a 70s-80s ethos of prosperity and escapism. The music that fills a yacht rock playlist is catchy, idyllic, and highly produced.
Reeves’ paintings are similarly utopian, and in turn, they call out their own production. Reeves is acutely aware that landscape painting as a genre relies on the construction of an ideal, romanticised place rather than a mimetic representation of reality. His impastoed surfaces that simultaneously describe realistic subjects while revealing the physicality of the medium itself, allude to this paradox.
“I thinkofyachtrockas a weirdmix ofthegenuine andironic. I feelthesameway aboutthese paintings.Theycelebrateutopicbeautyandjoy whiletheexcess ofit ondisplayalludesto a subtledoubtorimpossibilitythatunderliesthesenotions.” - Ben Reeves
Essential to yacht rock is the idea of escape. Reeves captures the human urge to get away from the harsh realities of the world by embracing nature. In one of the larger paintings in the exhibition, a windsurfer’s sail partially obscures him from our view. He is adrift alone in a sea of deep blues and purples, above him the sun sets in a canary yellow sky. The work is also an example of Reeves’ impressive facility with oil paint, encouraging it to mimic the object or material it is describing both in rendering and feeling. The sail of the windsurfer is so thinly painted that the texture of the canvas can still be detected, allowing us to believe in its translucency revealing the shadow of a figure behind. The water on the other hand, is painted in thick, impastoed brushstrokes that physically differentiate the surface of the rough water with the smooth sail.
In contrast to the larger canvas works in the exhibition where the compositions are largely fabricated from Reeves’ memory and intuition, the subjects for the oil on paper works are sourced primarily from everyday scenes captured with his own iPhone. This relatively recent medium for Reeves has opened up new avenues for inspiration - they allow for more freedom and spontaneity which in turn has impacted his approach in other areas of his practice.
Ben Reeves Sailing , 2024 oil and acrylic on canvas 68 x 52 in.
LookingNorthThroughTrees , 2024
24 1/4 x 16 in.
Ben Reeves
oil on paper
Previous: Ben Reeves, Paddleboard , 2024, oil on paper, 16 x 12 in Opposite: Ben Reeves, YellowSail,2024, oil and acrylic on canvas, 68 x 52 in.
Previous: Ben Reeves, FrozenLake , 2024, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 in.
Opposite: Ben Reeves, Headwaters , 2024, oil and acrylic on canvas, 68 1/4 x 52 1/4 in.
Next: Ben Reeves, MinutebyMinute , 2024, oil and acrylic on canvas, 68 x 87 in.
Previous: Ben Reeves, Sun , 2024, oil and acrylic on canvas over panel (with canvas collage), 18 x 24 in.
Opposite: Ben Reeves, Canyon , 2024, oil and acrylic on canvas, 64 1/4 x 48 in.
Ben Reeves MoraineLake , 2024 oil on paper 12 x 16 in.
Ben Reeves grew up in Lynn Valley on the North Shore of Vancouver and currently resides in Tsawwassen, a suburb outside of the city. The culture and landscape of the West Coast has always been a powerful source of inspiration in his work. Reeves paints primarily from memory, recently venturing into using his own photographs as source material. Reeves is best known for the physicality of his surfaces, applying large mounds of paint to represent snow or rain while making no attempt to disguise its material construction.
Ben Reeves was born in 1969. He is an Associate Professor at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver. He has exhibited his work extensively in Canada as well as in the United States, United Kingdom and China. In 2018, Reeves' survey exhibition, FloatingAmongPhantoms , was held at the Evergreen Cultural Centre in Coquitlam, British Columbia for which a catalogue was published. Other important exhibitions include ThePaintingProject:ASnapshot ofPaintinginCanada , Galerie de l'UQUAM, Montreal, 2013 and FortheRecord: DrawingContemporaryLife , Vancouver Art Gallery, 2003. Reeves' works are held in numerous collections including the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Vancouver Art Gallery and the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.
BEN REEVES | CURRICULUM VITAE
Education
1994-1995 MA Fine Arts, Chelsea College of Art and Design, London UK
1989-1993 BFA, University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver Canada
1987-1989 1st and 2nd year arts and sciences, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver Canada
Solo & 2 - Person Exhibitions
2024 YachtRock,Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto
Snapshot,Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto
2023 MorningCloak,Equinox Gallery, Vancouver
2022 SlackTide,Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto
2020 ValleyNights , Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto
2021 ABoatMadeofOcean,Equinox Gallery, Vancouver
2019 LandscapeasMuse,Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto
2018 SomethingEdge , Equinox Gallery, Vancouver
FloatingamongPhantoms , Evergreen Cultural Centre, Coquitlam (catalogue)
2017 BetweenDogandWolf , Equinox Gallery, Vancouver
2016 ShimmerandPaste , (two-person with Evan Lee), Rhichard Rhodes Dupont Projects, Toronto
Glimmer , Equinox Gallery, Vancouver
2014 LostOwls , Equinox Gallery, Vancouver
Ben Reeves, Jessica Bradley ART + PROJECTS, Toronto
2012 dissolve , Equinox Gallery, Vancouver
2011 Ben Reeves, Jessica Bradley ART + PROJECTS, Toronto
2010 everydayhallucinatory , Equinox Gallery, Vancouver
2009 oilandwater , Jessica Bradley ART + PROJECTS, Toronto
2008 Elements , Equinox Gallery, Vancouver
2007 BenReeves:Smoke,Cars,FlowersJessica Bradley ART + PROJECTS, Toronto
2006 ComplicatedMatterMuseum London, London, On. Curated by Melanie Townsend (catalogue)
2005 Equinox Gallery, Vancouver
DrawingPainting , Oakville Galleries, Oakville. Curated by Kim Simon (essay)
2002 DawsonCity , Odd Gallery, Yukon
1999 You’reSoakinginit , Atelier Gallery, Vancouver (essay by Christopher Brayshaw)
ComeUpstairs… , Anodyne Contemporary, Vancouver
1998 Meanwhile , Atelier Gallery, Vancouver
1993 AMS Gallery, UBC
Selected Group Exhibitions
2016 MajorWorks , Equinox Gallery
ASpecificAmalgamofSpiritandDirtgroup painting show, aka artist run centre, Saskatoon artists: Keeley Haftner, Ben Reeves, Ambra Wellman, Sean Weisgerber, curated by Keeley Haftner
MajorWorks , Equinox Gallery, Vancouver
2015 ViewsfromtheSouthbankIII:Information,Objects,Mapping , Surrey Art Gallery, September PushingPaint , Equinox Gallery September artists: Kim Dorland, Pia Fries, Gordon Smith, Ben Reeves, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Angela Teng
2013 goûtdelapeinture , Galerie de l’UQAM, Virtual Museum of Canada (a virtual survey of recent Canadian painting accompanied by a physical exhibition at Arsenal, Montreal, 2013)
2012 Opening:JessicaBradleyAnnex , Toronto
RawData.ArtisticTransformation , ECU Concourse Gallery, Vancouver
2011 Painters11:astringtheory , ECU Concourse Gallery, on the occasion of CrossingOver symposium at ECU Art,RevolutionandOwnership:ArtistsinConversationwithCopyright , Waldorf Hotel, Vancouver
SomePaintings , Equinox Gallery, Vancouver
2010 LARGER THAN LIFE, with Chuck Close, Marcel Dzama, Fred Herzog, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol, Equinox E2, Vancouver
2009 TakeYourTime , SFU Gallery, Burnaby, BC (catalogue)
Carte Blanche: Magenta Survey of Contemporary Canadian Painting, Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto
2008 FactsAndFigures , Museum London, London Ontario
2007 WorksonPainting, CSA Space, Vancouver, 3 person exhibition with Rebecca Donald and Evan Lee
2006 Open Studios, Toronto, On (2 person Exhibition with Sharry Boyle) HABITAT , Jessica Bradley ART + PROJECTS, Toronto
Du côté de Jessica Bradley ART + PROJECTS, Galerie René Blouin, Montreal, Que.
2005 In Line, Jessica Bradley ART + PROJECTS, Toronto, On
SurreySeen , Surrey Art Gallery, Surrey, B.C.
InauguralExhibition , Diaz Contemporary, Toronto, On.
ShifitingSpace , Museum of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Chongqing, China. (3 person show with Patrick Mahon and Gu Xiong) Curated by Gu Xiong.
2004 OutlineinBlack , Thielsen Galleries, London, On. Curated by Jamelie Hassan
HighPoints:CanadianContemporaryArt,TenYearsofAcquisitions , Musée des Beaux Arts, Montreal
RBC Great Canadian Painting Competition: 5th Anniversary, Elliot Louis Gallery, Vancouver, BC
LinesPaintedinEarlySpring , (cat. essay by curator Patrick Mahon) Galerie de l’UQAM, Montreal
Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound, Kamloops Art Gallery, Kamloops
2003 FortheRecord:DrawingContemporaryLife , (cat. essay by curator Daina Augaitis) Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver
LinesPaintedinEarlySpring , (cat) Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Koffler Gallery, Toronto
2000 RBCPrivateCounsel,GreatCanadianPaintingCompetition , Harrison Gallery, Vancouver
InOpenAir , (2 person show with Harold Nix) Atelier Gallery, Vancouver
1998-99 EdgeCity:NewArtFrom(&About)Suburbia , (cat. essay by curator Christopher Brayshaw) Surrey Art Gallery, Surrey
1997 Configuration:NewArtfromVancouver , (cat. essay by Christopher Brayshaw) Catriona
Jefferies Gallery, Vancouver
OutoftheGarden , (cat. essay by Christopher Brayshaw) Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, BC
Grants
Awards & Related Professional Experience
,
2016 Juror, Sooke Fine Arts Show
2015 BC Arts Council Project Grant
Juror, Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts
2013 Juror, Joe Plaskett Award
2010 Juror, Painting on the Edge (international juried competition), Canadian Federation of Artists, Vancouver
2005-06Visiting Artist, Open Studios, Toronto, On.
2005 Ontario Arts Council Mid-Career Artist Grant
Canada Dep’t of Foreign and International Trade, Visual & Media Arts Grant
Juror, RBC Great Canadian Painting Competition, Central Canada
2004 Canada Council Emerging Artist’s Grant
Visiting External, MFA Term-end Critiques, University of Guelph
2003 Vice Chair, Board of Directors, Forest City Gallery, London, On
2002 Canada Council Travel Grant
Artist in Residence, Klondike Institute of Art and Culture (KIAC), Dawnson City, YT
2001 RBC Great Canadian Painting Competition, winner, western Canada
2000-1 Printmaking Technician, UBC Department of AHVAT
1994 British Columbia Arts Board, Senior Award
1993 Studio Assistant to Jeff Wall
1992 Studio Assistant to Ken Lum
Collections
Canada Council Art Bank
Departmant of Foreign Affairs: Canada House, London UK
The Klondike Institute of Art and Culture
The London Institute
Morgan Stanley
Musée des Beaux Arts, Montreal
Museum London
National Gallery of Canada
Open Studio, Toronto
RBC Private Counsel
TD Canada
Scotiabank
Surrey Art Gallery
Vancouver Art Gallery
and private collections in North America and Europe
