Jeff Wall: Possible Tales
Jeff Wall, a prominent Canadian artist, has been a pivotal figure in elevating photography as a significant element of contemporary art since the 1980s. His technique of creating photographic tableaux borrows the core principle of composition from the tradition of painting. The exhibition showcases thirty-five of his works from a collection of nearly two hundred photographic pieces produced since 1978. This body of work, meticulously assembled over time, is both rich and diverse, characterized by recurring themes and an intricate sense of mystery. The photographs span a broad spectrum of styles and modes of expression, ranging from straightforward description to the beginnings of potential narratives.
The exhibition’s earliest piece, a 1980 landscape, portrays a semi-rural area in Greater Vancouver and exemplifies a documentary approach. The latest work, from 2023, employs allegory and represents Wall’s “cinematographic” style, where images are meticulously staged, often creating a dreamlike or fantastical world. Some works fall into a “near documentary” category, blending the documentary and cinematic approaches.
The exhibition is curated by Jean-François Chevrier with the artist.
About the Author
Jeff Wall was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada. During his time studying art history at the University of British Columbia in the 1960s, he developed an interest in Vancouver’s experimental art scene and taught himself photography, believing it to be the ideal medium for his conceptual ideas. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1968 and his Master of Arts degree from the same university in 1970. Wall pursued postgraduate research at the Courtauld Institute, University of London, from 1970 to 1973. In 1974, he began his teaching career at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax. He later taught at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver from 1976 to 1987 and has been teaching at the University of British Columbia since 1987.
Early group exhibitions featuring Wall’s work included shows at the Seattle Art Museum, Washington, and Vancouver Art Gallery in 1969, as well as the New Multiple Art exhibition at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London in 1970. His first solo exhibition took place at Nova Gallery in Vancouver in 1978. Subsequent solo exhibitions have been held at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London in 1984 and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago in 1995, which toured to the Jeu de Paume in Paris, the Helsinki Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London from 1995 to 1996.
Wall has expressed that “The only way to continue in the spirit of the avant-garde is to experiment with your relation to tradition” (Artnews, Nov. 1995, p.222). In 1977, a visit to the Prado in Madrid profoundly impacted him through the works of Velázquez and Goya. He concluded that, due to the prevalence of photography and film, it was no longer feasible for modern artists to paint like the old masters. Seeking a new method to depict everyday life, Wall found a suitable medium in lightboxes used for advertising and created his first backlit transparencies in 1978. Early works, such as “The Thinker” (1986), directly referenced iconic art history pieces like Rodin’s sculpture. Recently, he has explored the literary and cinematic dimensions of his art more actively. Most of his works are set in Vancouver and include references to art, the media, and socio-economic issues.
Jeff Wall: Possible Tales
24.05.2024 – 13.10.2024
La Virreina Centre de la Imatge – Barcelona, Spain
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