Iconic Canadian art hidden in YYC office lobby!
By Richard White, December 28, 2013
It always amazes me what you can find in downtown Calgary if you just explore a little bit - get off the beaten path. A few weeks back I shared with you some artworks that I found in the lobby and hallways at Bow Valley College. The place is a friggn public art gallery with art everywhere. Learn more at: Flaneuring Bow Valley College
Another day I was flaneuring the east end of Stephen Avenue and while not off the beaten path there was the one of downtown's more successful public artworks - the larger than live famous five ladies. Learn more at Famous 5 at Olympic Plaza.
Today I had an appointment at Eight Avenue Place (EAP) and discovered paintings by Jack, Jack, Ray, Jean, Jean-Paul and Marcelle - all members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. It is not everyday you find in an office lobby with museum quality artworks.
But then downtown Calgary is not your average downtown, with over 40 million square feet of office space, it is one of the top 10 downtowns for corporate headquarters in North America. Every new office building has wonderful art in the lobby and on the plaza making the downtown a 40-block contemporary art gallery. Learn More: "Downtown Calgary giant outdoor art gallery"
Someday someone is going to create an app that will be a self guided tour of YYC's Downtown Art gallery.
Iconic Canadian Artists
In the meantime, EAP has created a brochure for six masterpiece contemporary artworks by iconic Canadian artists:
- Jack Shadbolt
- Ray Mead
- Jean-Paul Riopelle
- Jack Bush
- Jean McEwen
- Marcelle Ferron
While I have been critical of Calgary's downtown in the past for being too corporate, too conservative and too minimal in its urban design, EAP and others have certainly contributed to making our downtown more visually interesting with literally hundreds of artworks.
EAP's Lobby Art & Design....
As you enter from Stephen Avenue you are immediately welcomed by Jack Shadbolt's, "Wild Grass Suite - Quintet" (1979). I love the fact that you can grab a coffee next door and sit and enjoy the art.
In this close-up of one of the panels you can see that the image looks as if was inspired by the Alberta prairie grasslands where they meet the foothills. The piece has a wonderful sense of playfulness and certainly adds lots of warmth and colour to an other wise stark lobby.
The next piece you encounter is Ray Mead's "Totem" (1986) which hangs above the concierge desk. Again it adds lots of colour and have an aboriginal quality to them in the simple mark-making and flattened stylized images. The title also suggest an affinity with First Nations sense of place.
Tucked away in one of the three elevator lobbies is this unusual Jack Bush painting "New York 55" (1955). Unusual in that most of us associate Bush with bright primary colours, yet this piece is mostly blacks, browns and pinks. The piece definitely conveys New York's sense of place as the world's leading skyscraper city with its collage of vertical blocks, interspersed with smaller marks for windows and swirls for window reflections. This is probably the most literal Bush piece I have ever seen and certainly is museum quality.
Definitely a good choice for EAP as it is one of Canada's best skyscrapers. Did you know that Downtown Calgary is built at the same density as Manhattan or Chicago?
Any public art gallery in Canada would love to have this piece titled "Oliviers" by Jean-Paul Riopelle in their collection. I wonder if the EAP tenants who pass by it everyday even realize that they get to enjoy a painting by one of Canada's iconic artists everyday. While other office buildings in North America have modern art in their lobby; there are very few that have iconic works of art.
Jean McEwan's "Le Climat Rouge" (1957) invites contemplation, I want to grab the bench that is underneath the painting and move it to the middle of the elevator lobby and just sit and study it.
It is obvious that the six artworks have been carefully selected to complement each other with a focus on use of colour, brush and mark-making and abstracting from nature.
Marcelle Ferron's "Chile" (1973) combines elements of Shadbolt, Mead, Riopelle, Bush and McEwan in her work.
Signature Furniture
EAP lobby also includes modern office furniture by Arne Jacobsen, Eero Saarinen and Florence Knoll. The huge south facing two story atrium or winter garden would make a wonderful sculpture garden. While there are plans for a major piece of public art, it is most likely to go outside on 9th Avenue.
Currently the lobby features numerous "ice bursts" suspended from the ceiling that add an element of surprise and elegance to the minimalism of the lobby design.
The lobby offers dramatic views of Calgary southern sky.
The lobby has several inviting areas to sit and linger each authentic modern furniture. And yes over the holidays they had the TVs turned to the Shaw's burning fireplace.
EAP's has one of the most dramatic office lobbies in Canada, perhaps North America.
These "ice bursts" were created by Stephen Stefanou of Venue Arts. Each point of the bursts is individually created by slowly pushing a metal rod through the heated plastic-like material, so each is unique. There are several "bursts" hanging from the ceiling in the central lobby as well as the lobbies of the two towers. Flood lights are used to slowly change the colour of the bursts adding yet another element of surprise.
While under construction EAP had over 20 reproductions of artworks by senior Calgary artists covering the construction hoarding along the side of the road. It was literally a who's who of Calgary art. I have never seen this done before.
On the second floor (+15 level) SQCommons has been operating a "pop-up" contemporary gallery both in the public areas and in a 6,000+ square foot future retail space. The space has also been used for several special events including Burst Calgary.
The unique design for Eight Avenue Place was inspired by the Canadian Rockies with their jagged, angular, shard-like peaks. The building's facade reflects Calgary's abundant sunshine at several different angles during the day and seasons creating an ever-changing facade.
Last Word
Eight Avenue Place was designed by Pickard Chilton an international architectural firm based in New Haven, Connecticut and Gibbs Gage Architects from Calgary. It was the first pre-certified LEED Platinum high-rise building in North Americia. The first tower is 49 floors and the second tower which will be completed and occupied in 2014 is 40floors. Combined they provide 1,800,000 square feet of office space on 89 floors.
Kudos to AIMCo, SITQ and Matco the co-owners of EAP for their innovative use of art (both locally and nationally) to differentiate themselves from other major office complexes. I can't wait to see the outdoor sculpture piece they will commission.
If you like this blog, you might like:
FFQing in Downtown's Udderly Art Pasture
The Famous Five at Olympic Plaza
Readers' comments:
RW writes: Great article. Most of us, myself included might notice these things but do not tie it all together because we are on a mission aka meeting/lunch/deadline. The thought of having art all around us sure gives another dimension to our corporate downtown. Keep up the increased pace of writing...I find your “investigative” sleuthing makes me re-think and re-examine my urban environment. I sometimes find myself in a situation re-examining a streetscape or a public space and wonder how Richard might interpret the situation as compared to how I am seeing it. A recent example occurred when I was describing Stampede Trail and the activities/signage and buzz we hope to create with a new entertainment district and thought back to your signage article and how you might view our approach (I think you will get excited).
GB writes: When I was a young man, I worked for Manulife and we operated Calgary House at 550-6th Avenue. The lobby has a full wall bronze of "Pan and the Three Graces". In 1972 I had a plaque put up describing the piece, but I think it is gone now. The amount of great public art in Calgary is amazing, but much of it is seldome seen or identified. Good for you for bringing some of it to our attention.
JB writes:Thank you! Viewing this blog this morning brought a burst of warmth into my office! All that lovely color! This definitely warrants a trip downtown.