FUSE

The next FUSE night takes on expansive beauty and terrible realities coalesce at the Vancouver Art Gallery.  Named the Best Art Party in Vancouver, FUSE offers one-of-a-kind experimental art, cutting edge new music and innovative live performances. Inspired by the striking photography in Edward Burtynsky’s exhibition A Terrible Beauty, guest curator Veda Hille orchestrates a range of poetic attempts, bringing the audiences to the present through operatic dramas, rock and roll extremes and expressions of spectacular.

FUSE: A Terrible Beauty features an eclectic set of programs:

Film in Music is an eight piece musical ensemble led by Vancouver cellist and musical innovator Peggy Lee. Within the framework of a musical suite, each musician represents a character in a story, expressing individual ideas through their instruments. The music implies the arc of a story, but elements of improvisation take the listeners on a journey that is never the same twice.

J.R.R. Tokin’ – Combining the two main themes, Tolkien and Led Zeppelin, in the current exhibitionMyfanwy MacLeod, or There and Back Again, three piece stoner doom metal trio J.R.R. Tokin’ will play loud music with a heavy Tolkien influence in front of artist Myfanwy MacLeod’s work Stack, a large-scale wall-mounted work that resembles the wall of Marshall speaker cabinets used by Led Zeppelin to produce heavily amplified sound for their stadium concerts.

A Terrible Beauty Sketch Class is both a live sketching session and a performance. Allan Zinyk and Billy Marchenski will present an unconventional way to draw from a life model that tests the boundary between beauty and grotesque. Drawing supplies and instructions will be provided for audiences who would like to make their own terrible and beautiful art.

Crying with Elizabeth Milton and company – Vancouver based performance and media artist Elizabeth Milton often explores the construction of individual and collective identity through character-play and collaboration. Crying is an experiment of the influence of “publicly displayed emotion” while a team of professionals weep openly in front of various artworks throughout the Gallery.

Malefactor – Vancouver artist My Name is Scot will slowly build a new sculptural performance work Malefactor throughout the evening. As audiences pass through the first floor rotunda, they will witness a steady reveal of human-size letters, culminating in a completed sentence by the end of the night.

Drag queen diva Maria Toilette will present a selection of original and outrageous compositions that fall in the genre of operatic cabaret songs. The verbatim lyrics will be explicitly about gay sexual experiences as told to Maria online and in conversation.

Chat Attack – The social aspect of FUSE is one of its most alluring charms. Performers Dawn Petten and Paul Anthony will rove through the Gallery and engage with the audiences by asking questions, providing answers, and keeping people on their toes.

In addition to performances, FUSE-goers can see these current exhibitions: Lawren Harris: Canadian VisionaryA Terrible Beauty: Edward BurtynksyScorned: Emily CarrMyfanwy MacLeod, or There and Back AgainArtist’s Choice: Cock and Bull; and Out of Sight: New Acquisitions. For ticket information, please visit:http://vanartgallery.bc.ca/events_and_programs/fuse.html

About FUSE: Since its inception in July 2005, thousands of FUSE–goers have converged at the Gallery for this unique adult event. Live performances and music in the Gallery spaces, DJs, eclectic Gallery tours, contemporary dance and unexpected surprises have made FUSE Vancouver’s favourite art party —a place to see–and–be–seen. FUSE is organized by the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the April 25th edition is guest-curated by Veda Hille.