About 15 years ago, contemporary artist Ben Reeves was a teacher at the University of Western Ontario, in London, Ont., when he had a direct studies visual art student named Astrid Heyerdahl.
A few years later, as the visual arts manager at Coquitlam’s Evergreen Cultural Centre, Heyerdahl got in touch with Reeves, who by then had moved to the west coast, to look at curating an exhibit.
Next Wednesday, Reeves will finally see the results of that reacquaintance when he opens a solo show at Evergreen, with a title recommended by its newly hired visual arts manager, Katherine Dennis — a line taken from the 1983 book Mr. Palomar, penned by the Italian author Italo Calvino, that refers to the protagonist’s unique way of looking at the world through his artist’s eyes.
Floating among Phantoms includes about a dozen works since 2014 by the Tsawwassen painter, focusing on urban and suburban landscapes of which at least two have never been seen in public.
The book line “came out of a discussion with Katherine in early conversations about what the exhibition might look like,” said Reeves, an associate professor at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design. “There were similarities in our approach to try to understand our experiences in the world.”
Reeves describes his observational painting style as a “bit of an adventure at the beginning. I don’t plan on where it’s going to go…. There is no predetermined plan. It’s just a general feeling or an aspect of an image and that process helps me to reflect but I try not to think too much about it.”
Reeves, who in 2010 had a solo show titled everyday hallucinatory at the Equinox Gallery, has displayed his paintings around the world. And the Art Gallery at Evergreen along with the Equinox Gallery will co-publish an illustrated colour catalogue to accompany Floating among Phantoms.
• Ben Reeves will be at the opening for Floating among Phantoms on Wednesday, May 9 at the Art Gallery at Evergreen (1205 Pinetree Way) from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The exhibit runs until June 30.
