Canada's Newest Art Museum to Open With an Exhibition of Canada's Most Acclaimed Living Artist

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - April 21, 2015) -

Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this Press Release.

The Audain Art Museum's construction is on schedule to open to the public in Whistler, B.C. on Saturday, November 21, 2015. The opening will feature an exhibition of work by renowned Vancouver photographer Jeff Wall.

The 56,000 sq.ft. museum was conceived in late 2012 by Vancouver home builder Michael Audain, who commissioned Patkau Architects to design a building to accommodate the extensive collection of British Columbia art owned by Audain and his wife Yoshiko Karasawa, as well as to provide a gallery for temporary exhibitions.

"It's exciting that we can present Jeff Wall: North & West as our inaugural exhibition because he is widely recognized as one of the most important artists of the late twentieth century for his contribution to helping photography gain acceptance as fine art," says museum Executive Director Suzanne Greening."

"I accepted the invitation to exhibit in Whistler out of respect for Michael Audain's long standing commitment to the visual arts, and also because I am interested in seeing my work in the context his collection creates-a historical view of art in B.C.," explains Jeff Wall.

The Audain Art Museum will be Canada's newest Category A art venue and one of the largest in Western Canada. It will be open year round.

"The intent is for the museum to play a leadership role in Whistler becoming a cultural destination," says Ms. Greening. "Michael's collection of British Columbia art, which contains many historical First Nations works, as well as the leading private collection of Emily Carr, is truly stunning."

Background:

The Audain Art Museum site is located on Blackcomb Way adjacent to Whistler Village. The building will be constructed to LEED Gold standards with sophisticated environmental and security systems, which will allow it to accommodate exhibitions from the National Gallery of Canada and other major art museums.

Designed by Patkau Architects, the Audain Art Museum will be a discreet contemporary building in a large forested setting.

At 56,000 square feet, the Audain Art Museum will be British Columbia's largest purpose-built art museum. The museum will house a large portion of the personal art collection that Audain and his wife Yoshiko Karasawa have amassed over the past 40 years. Their world-class Northwest Coast art collection will be on permanent display, plus galleries with temporary exhibitions of Canadian and international art. It will be an attraction for Whistler's 10,000 residents and the 2.7 million annual visitors to the four-season resort.

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