Hollywood Road has a colourful history. The first street to be completed in Hong Kong by Royal Engineers under British rule, this one-kilometre stretch of pavement was home to the the city’s first Union Church in the 1840s. In 1941, Japanese troops bombed Hollywood Road during the Battle of Hong Kong. Nearly two decades later, American director Richard Quine filmed parts of The World of Suzie Wong on this strip.
More recently, Vancouver-born photographer Greg Girard created a beautifully lit night-time image of Hollywood Road, which is part of a new exhibition entitled TENXTEN. Girard’s Hollywood Road 1997 (2021, archival pigment print) comes from the collection of philanthropist and former securities lawyer Bruce Munro Wright.
Griffin Art Projects (1174 Welch Street, North Vancouver) is presenting TENXTEN to recognize the generosity of 10 private collectors, including Wright, on the gallery’s 10th anniversary. The list also includes Claudia Beck and Andrew Gruft; Jane Irwin and Ross Hill; Laing and Kathleen Brown; Drs. Wallace and Madeline Chung; Gerd Metzdorff (via Grant Mann and David Birdsall); Inna and Michael O’Brian; Michael Audain and Yoshiko Karasawa; Cathy Busby and Garry Neill Kennedy; and Michael Prout and Leonardo Lara.
“Their contributions—from vital loans to their unwavering patronage—have been essential to the success of the gallery,” Griffin Art Projects director Lisa Baldissera said in a news release. “More than supporters of our institution, they are beacons of inspiration for the art community as a whole, radiating a genuine and infectious passion for art. Their steadfast commitment to the artists they champion and their selfless urge to give back to the community is not only life-affirming, but profound.”
Collection of Michael Audain, Image courtesy of Audain Art Museum.
TENXTEN augmented by Conversations on Collection
TENXTEN runs from May 31 to September 7. According to the news release, the exhibition includes works by Katharina Grosse, Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Thomas Ruff, Cindy Sherman, and Jack Shadbolt, among other notable artists. In addition, the gallery will present a Paul Wong film, The Prop House.
As well, Griffin Art Projects will continue its “Conversations on Collecting”. It will co-present three special events in this series with the Contemporary Art Society of Vancouver, in partnership with the Vancouver Art Gallery (details below).
Conversations on Collecting: Nurturing the Artistic Talent of Tomorrow
Thursday, June 12, 6 p.m.
Griffin Art Projects (1174 Welch Street)
Speakers: Jane Irwin and Ross Hill, Shawn Hunt, Inna O’Brian, and more.
Conversations on Collecting: Collecting to Build Community
Thursday, July 24 at 6 p.m.
Vancouver Art Gallery | Courtroom 302 (750 Hornby Street)
**This talk will take place in Courtroom 302. Please enter the gallery through the Hornby door entrance. RSVP is required as space is limited.
Speakers: Cathy Busby, Lisa Baldissera, Melissa Lee (Chung Collection), Karen Tam, Pantea Haghighi and others.
Conversations on Collecting: Transformational Legacies
Saturday, September 27 at 2 p.m.
Vancouver Art Gallery (750 Hornby Street)
Speakers: influential collectors.
For more information on TENXTEN, visit the Griffin Art Projects website. Follow Pancouver on X @PancouverMedia, Bluesky @pancouver.bsky.social, and Instagram @PancouverMedia.
