Sybil Andrews was an extraordinary character, dedicated teacher, and Modernist artist of the 20th century, and a renown figure in the cultural landscape of Campbell River and beyond. The Campbell River Art Gallery has chosen to represent her legacy through the commissioned artworks of five diverse artists. Audiences visiting Finding Sybil will have the benefit of learning about Andrews through the embodied experiences of these artists that introduce new ways of understanding her life and art.
The contemporary voices illuminate important aspects of Sybil Andrews’ creative life. Karver Everson is an interdisciplinary artist whose relational approach departs significantly from Andrews’ promotion of the individual artist’s voice; for the exhibition he works in collaboration with artist Nicole Crouch, whose watercolour paintings investigate spirituality and healing. Jake James, blacksmith and sculptor, references Sybil’s connection to the power and potential of manual labour. Kari Kristensen provides linear perspectives in linocut that ruminate on the necessity of the curve in Andrews’ oeuvre. Marni McMahan, a quilter from Quadra Island, highlights important elements central to our understanding of Sybil’s work ethic and needlework skills. The work of these artists draws relationships across mediums, investigates history, and accentuates marked changes that have occurred in society and culture. They are all a product of their own time, and contribute to an expanded understanding of Andrews’ legacy.
Each artist is represented in their own section, with photographs, quotations, and artworks of Sybil Andrews located throughout. The reading room contains objects that belonged to Sybil as well as the artwork of some of her students; a window into her life at the Willow Point cottage.
The exhibition runs from March 6 to May 1, 2021, in the Main Gallery.
