Ian Wallace, Drums and Paint, 2010

Please e-mail afkinfo@sd44.ca or call (604) 903-3798 if you are interested in acquiring this edition. 

Ian Wallace, born in 1943 in Shoreham England, moved to Canada with his family and settled in West Vancouver in 1953.  After graduating with a Master’s degree in Art History from the University of British Columbia, Wallace taught art history at the university from 1967 to 1970, and then at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design from 1972 to 1998. 

Wallace was influenced by professors BC Binning and Ian Baxter who helped him appreciate the potential of  “concept” in the development of historical and contemporary imagery. Following an exhibition at the 49th Parallel Gallery in New York City in 1985, Wallace became a senior member of a group of conceptual artists who became recognized as the Vancouver School. Known for his contemporary approach to linking painting with photography, and for his critical writings on art and art history, Wallace is an internationally respected educator and artist. 

In 2004 Wallace was the recipient of the Governor General’s Award for the Visual Arts. In 2013 Wallace was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2014 Wallace was honoured with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and awarded the Chevalier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture. The Audain Art Prize was awarded to Wallace in 2022. 

The edition of Drums and Paint reflects Ian Wallace’s interest in the studio experience as an integral part of his imagery. This image was created directly in Ian Wallace’s studio and is an exclusive image of a subject accessible only to Wallace as the artist/author.  Wallace’s notice of the strong contrast and “rich colour of the paint pot and the canvas surface” struck a resonance with him as did the “memory of sound” implied by his drum kit. The architectural composition of this photo work reflects Wallace’s formal interest in linear space and the ability of the bold warm colour to imbue strength.