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Join SUM gallery for the Opening Reception of Mirrors: Michael Morris & Dion Smith-Dokkie, curated by Rodney Sharman.Mirrors presents a series of watercolour nudes created by Michael Morris during his Berlin residency in the 1980s. Unique in Morris’ predominantly abstract oeuvre, these paintings depict hustlers, artists, and friends, many of them posing in front of a mirror, so that their form could be captured from different angles. Some three dozen nudes, none of which have ever been exhibited publicly, are presented alongside six newly commissioned paintings — “reflections” on Morris’ work — by West Moberly First Nations artist Dion Smith-Dokkie . Curated by Rodney Sharman , Mirrors reflects on how the queer community's relationship with AIDS has changed over the last forty years while highlighting the myriad issues that younger queer people continue to face today. Morris' nudes, painted daily during the height of the AIDS crisis, create a body of overtly queer expression that is sensual, colourful, and safe, a private reflection of community at a time when queer people were very much villainized. By contrast, Smith-Dokkie's works turn the viewer's gaze upon himself: these nude self-portraits, situated in the bedroom or the bathhouse, are a sensuous, intimate, and vulnerable departure from the artist's otherwise abstract body of work.
Join us for the opening reception on February 6, from 6 - 9pm , where both Smith-Dokkie and Sharman will be in attendance.
SUM gallery is grateful for the time, guidance, and generosity of Michael Morris' longtime partner, Rahmi Emin, as well as the support of the Parachute Foundation, the Audain Foundation, the Deux Mille Foundation, and the BC Arts Council.
Mirrors: Michael Morris & Dion Smith-Dokkie runs at SUM gallery Feb. 6 - Apr. 4.
SUM gallery hours: Tuesday - Saturday, noon - 6pm.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
#425-268 Keefer St,(4th floor in the Sun Wah Building),Vancouver,V6A1X6,CA, Canada
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