PRESENTED BY
ORGANIZED BY
Douglas Coupland: everywhere is anywhere is anything is everything is organized and circulated by the Vancouver Art Gallery and curated by Daina Augaitis, Chief Curator/Associate Director. The exhibition is presented in Toronto by the Royal Ontario Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art and is being held concurrently at both institutions. This exhibition was made possible with the generous support of The Keg Steakhouse + Bar, and The Artworkers Retirement Society.
Douglas Coupland is one of Canada’s most celebrated contemporary artists, writers and thinkers. Through diverse media ranging from Lego to found materials, painting to installation, he explores issues which affect us all: the 21st-century condition, Canadian identity, the power of language and the pervasive presence of technology in modern life.
Douglas Coupland: everywhere is anywhere is anything is everything is the first major survey of the work Coupland has created since 2000. The exhibition is a first-time partnership between the Royal Ontario Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art.
With incisiveness and humour, Coupland’s work will inspire you to question contemporary issues and suggest new ways of seeing your world.
Douglas Coupland: everywhere is anywhere is anything is everything includes over 100 works. The exhibition is divided into six themes, four of which are on display at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), and two at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA).
For the full exhibition experience, visit both venues:
ROM Contemporary Culture is one of eight Centres of Discovery at Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum. It engages leading creators and thinkers of our time who challenge us to look at our world anew, showing us historical linkages and pointing us to future possibilities.
Words Into Objects includes Coupland’s recent work Slogans for the 21st Century, which contains more than 100 pithy statements about our contemporary world.
In 21st Century Condition, Coupland references recent world events including the 9/11 terrorist attacks and introduces smartphone technology as a tool for viewers to engage with memories of that pivotal event.
In Pop Explosion, Coupland brings classic images of the Pop Art movement into the 21st century.
The Brain focuses on a major new sculpture comprised of 5000 objects the artist has collected over the years, serving as a metaphor for the complicated ways in which the brain functions and calling into question ideas of collecting and collections.
The mandate of the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art is to exhibit, research, collect, and promote innovative art by Canadian and international artists whose works engage and address challenging issues and themes relevant to our times.
Secret Handshake unravels the stereotypes that constitute Canadian cultural identity, both benign and menacing.
In Growing Up Utopian, Coupland uses Lego, latent with endless creative potential, to reflect on both the fantastical and dystopic possibilities born out of this post-war perspective.
Date: Saturday, April 11, 1pm
Location: MOCCA
Join art writer Betty Ann Jordan for a walking tour of Toronto’s inspiring collection of public art created by Douglas Coupland.
Date: Sunday, April 12, 9am
Location: MOCCA
Inspired by Douglas Coupland‘s 345 Modern Houses, participants will design a layout of their ideal room – whether it’s a kitchen, bedroom, or playroom – then turn it into an edition of handmade prints. Ages 4-12.
Date: Sunday, April 19, 9am
Location: MOCCA
After a special access tour of the exhibition sections at MOCCA, participants unleash their creativity and build their own dream constructions. Ages 4-12.
Images from left to right, top to bottom: (1) Douglas Coupland, Brilliant Information Overload Pop Head, 2010, acrylic and epoxy on pigment print, Collection of Lucia Haugen Lundin. (2) Douglas Coupland, Towers, 2014, Lego, 50 components, Courtesy of the Artist and Daniel Faria Gallery. (3) Douglas Coupland, Slogans for the 21st Century, 2011–2014 (detail), 148 pigment prints on watercolour paper, laminated onto aluminum, Courtesy of the Artist and Daniel Faria Gallery. (4) Douglas Coupland, I wait and I wait and I wait for God to appear, 2011, acrylic and latex on canvas, Collection of Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen’s University, Kingston. Purchase, Acquisition Assistance Program of the Canada Council for the Arts, Chancellor Richardson Memorial Fund and Donald Murray Shepherd Bequest, Queen’s University, 2012 (55-006). (5) Douglas Coupland, Drone Attack, 2013, gloss laminated ink jet print mounted on aluminum, googly eyes, Courtesy of the Artist and Daniel Faria Gallery. Photo: Trevor Mills, Vancouver Art Gallery. (6) Douglas Coupland, The Brain, 2014 (detail), mixed media installation with readymade objects, Courtesy of the Artist and Daniel Faria Gallery. (7) Douglas Coupland, The National Pantry, 2014 (detail), wood, shelves, readymade objects, Courtesy of the Artist and Daniel Faria Gallery. (8) Douglas Coupland, 345 Modern House, 2014, Lego, resin, 100 components, Courtesy of the Artist and Daniel Faria Gallery. Photos (1), (2), (6), (7), (8): Rachel Topham, Vancouver Art Gallery. Photo of Douglas Coupland by Andy Jenkins.
The ROM is an agency of the Government of Ontario.