Images
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![jw_in the legion_2022]()
Jeff Wall, In the Legion, 2022, inkjet print, 162 × 203 cm. Courtesy of the artist.
Jeff Wall: Inside
In-person
Museum Photography Self-guided Visual artsDate and time
Tuesday–Saturday, 11am–5pm
Location
West Vancouver Art Museum
680 17th Street
West Vancouver, BC
Access
Free, and accepts optional pay-what-you-may donations for admission.
Offered in English.
Wheelchair accessible and has gender-neutral washrooms.
About
About the exhibition
Inside presents a selection of the artist’s work over the past 30 years, with the emphasis on pictures made in the past decade and not previously seen in Vancouver. Wall has stated that, from the outset, he wanted to have the same artistic freedom as painters, poets, or composers, the freedom to find what he calls “starting points“ anywhere—in things he witnessed, heard about, read about, or imagined.
The interiors are varied, from private rooms to busy public spaces, from present time to imaginary past moments, giving a sense of the artist’s wide-ranging fascinations. The often-large size of the works emphasizes the visual impact of composition, colour, and form as well as the intimacy of seeming to share space with the subjects.
The pictures invite both contemplation and discussion, blending composition and artifice with the complex character of the different subjects—the approach that Wall has elaborated over his almost five-decade long career.
This exhibition is generously supported by Jennifer and John Webb.
About the artist
Jeff Wall was born in 1946 in Vancouver, where he lives and works. His photographs have been exhibited worldwide over the past 40 years. His pictures often depict events the artist has witnessed and reconstructed in a process he calls “cinematography”. His subject matter ranges from everyday occurrences photographed in real places to imaginary situations constructed in a studio.
He is considered to be one of the artists who, since the 1970s, has led the way in emphasizing the affinities between photography, painting, and cinema. He taught art at universities in Canada for 25 years, and his critical writing has been collected and published in several languages.
His work has been the subject of numerous retrospective exhibitions, most recently at the Glenstone Museum in Potomac, Maryland in 2021, the Beyeler Foundation, Basel in 2024, the Museum for Art, Architecture, and Technology, Lisbon and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Toronto in 2025.
Links
- Learn More About the Exhibition westvancouverartmuseum.ca
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Organizer
West Vancouver Art Museum
The West Vancouver Art Museum builds awareness of diverse forms of contemporary and historical art, architecture, and design, engaging audiences with issues and ideas central to the community and the world beyond.