Printmaker launches at Surrey Art Gallery with an Opening Reception, April 13 — Stir

Major survey exhibition Takao Tanabe: Printmaker is on display at Surrey Art Gallery from April 13 to June 2. A Spring Opening reception takes place on April 13 from 6:30 pm to 9 pm, featuring a conversation between the exhibition’s guest curator Ian M. Thom and Surrey Art Gallery curator of exhibitions and collections Jordan Strom.

Organized by Kelowna Art Gallery with Thom, this exhibition features over 60 prints by renowned artist Takao Tanabe from their collection, as well as Vancouver Art Gallery and Winnipeg Art Gallery’s collections. Tanabe is among Canada’s most celebrated painters and printmakers, recognized for his landscapes that bridge the gap between abstraction and realism. This iteration of the exhibition will additionally feature selections from Surrey Art Gallery’s own permanent collection.

Although celebrated for his paintings, Tanabe has also pursued printmaking throughout his life. The range of works on display span the entirety of Tanabe’s career, from his earliest linocut Christmas cards dating back to 1948 all the way up to depictions of the West Coast landscape completed as recently as 2023. Along with the tranquil, contemplative portrayals of the Gulf Islands and the Albertan plains for which he is widely known, the exhibition also includes screen-printed hard-edge colour abstractions from the 1960s, monotypes (single editions) of natural forms from the 1950s, and even some of the physical woodblocks used to produce his more recent prints.