Kelowna Art Gallery opens the vault for new exhibition

The Kelowna Art Gallery has been collecting masterpieces for years, tucking them into the vault. But, as we all know, art is meant to be seen.
Currently, the gallery has more than 1,000 works of art in its vault, 100 of which have been selected for the upcoming exhibition called Rise/Fall: Works from the Permanent Collection that opens Saturday, Oct. 5.
“In our case, we do not have a permanent collection gallery. In other words, our permanent collection is always in the vault unless we have an exhibition,” said Clea Haugo, Kelowna Art Gallery registrar and assistant curator.
Unlocking the vault is easy, but preparing 100 paintings for their debut is difficult.
“Most of our artworks are on paper and they are stored stacked in boxes. So, when the opportunity comes to exhibit them we can take them out of those places and have them hinged and framed,” said Haugo.
One-tenth of the stored collection is marked to be hung and displayed for all to see by the weekend in the show spearheaded by Christine May, curator at the Kelowna Art Gallery.
One of those discoveries is a A.Y. Jackson painting, who was a member of the Group of Seven, a group of painters. The Canadian painters were best known for their works inspired by nature.
“It was painted in 1961 so it’s a nice modern piece and it’s depicting the Canadian landscape which he’s known for,” said May.
It will be revealed alongside the 99 other masterpieces for the exhibition’s opening on Saturday, which runs through to Jan. 26, 2025.