Winter 2025-2026 Exhibitions at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

The winter exhibitions include ਸ਼ੀਸ਼ੇ ‘ਚ ਤਰੇੜ | sheeshe ‘ch thareṛ | a crack in the mirror, Fifty Shades of Ink: Ink Paintings from the AGGV Collection and Dangerous Beauty: The Prints of Albrecht Dürer.

Simranpreet Anand, ਊਚ ਨੀਚ ਬਿਕਾਰ ਸੁਕ੍ਰਿਤ ਸੰਲਗਨ ਸਭ ਸੁਖ ਛਤ੍ਰ ॥ ਮਿਤ੍ਰ ਸਤ੍ਰੁ ਨ ਕਛੂ ਜਾਨੈ ਸਰਬ ਜੀਅ ਸਮਤ ॥ uooch neech bikaar sukirat sa(n)lagan sabh sukh chhatr || mitr satr na kachhoo jaanai sarab jeea samat, 2021, chandoa sahib, rihal, chaur sahib, plastic marigolds, plastic rose petals, white sheet, 9’ diameter x 10’ height. Photograph by Rachel Topham Photography, courtesy of The Reach Gallery Museum.

ਸ਼ੀਸ਼ੇ ‘ਚ ਤਰੇੜ | sheeshe ‘ch thareṛ | a crack in the mirror

November 22, 2025 – April 12, 2026

Organized and circulated by The Reach Gallery Museum; guest curated by Sajdeep Soomal. This exhibition engages materials and concepts drawn from the histories of Punjab and its diasporas.

A survey of recent works by artist Simranpreet Anand, including collaborative pieces with artist and ethnomusicologist Conner Singh VanderBeek. Anand’s practice, indebted to familial and cultural community, engages materials and concepts drawn from the histories of Punjab and its diasporas. The title of the exhibition, sheesh ‘ch thareṛ, captures the fissures emerging from her ongoing encounters with matter and material culture in our globalized world. The show centres around ਬੰਦੇ ਚਸਮ ਦੀਦੰ ਫਨਾਇ / bande chasm deedn fanaai (Ang 723), a body of works that takes the synthetic, plastic-laden material culture that surrounds contemporary Sikh institutions as its starting point. Parallel to this series are works that consider the fabric of everyday life, attending to its embodied histories and gendered contexts of labour.

View Exhibition Brochure

Okada Hanko (Japanese, 1782 – 1846), Sailboat on an Inky River, c.1825 – 1846 P, ink, 30.4 x 42.1 cm. Gift of Mr. & Mrs. R. W. Finlayson Toronto, AGGV1978.266.001.

Fifty Shades of Ink: Ink Paintings from the AGGV Collection

December 6, 2025 – April 26, 2026

Curated by Dr. Heng Wu, AGGV Curator of Asian Art

“Ink has five shades” (墨分五色) is a foundational principle in the tradition of Chinese ink painting. First articulated in the 9th century by the artist and art historian Zhang Yanyuan, this idea has shaped both the creation and appreciation of ink art for over a thousand years. It reveals the expressive power of ink, which, through the subtle interplay with water and the dynamic engagement of the brushstroke, can unfold into works rich in depth, texture, and tonal variation. In the hands of a skilled artist, the shifting shades of ink become vessels of emotion and vitality, transcending color to reveal a polychrome world within monochrome.

Taking inspiration from this classical principle, Fifty Shades of Ink expands the idea, suggesting that the potential of ink is endlessly nuanced. This exhibition draws from the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria’s rich collection of Asian ink paintings to celebrate the expressive possibilities of the medium. Also on view are historical ink sticks and ink stones, offering insight into the material and cultural heritage behind this timeless art form.

Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471 – 1528), The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, woodcut, 38.7 x 27.5 cm. Dr. Gustav and Marie Schilder Collection. AGGV1964.188.001

Dangerous Beauty: The Prints of Albrecht Dürer

December 13, 2025 – May 3, 2026

Curated by Steven McNeil, AGGV Chief Curator & Director of Exhibitions

Sharing artwork from the AGGV collection, this exhibition presents twelve prints by Albrecht Dürer (1471 – 1528). The selected prints showcase the artist’s extraordinary skill as a printmaker and his fascination with dramatic subjects centred on danger. Dürer’s prints often merge themes of danger and beauty, incorporating monstrous figures as well as scenes that evoke imminent or unfolding peril. Dürer’s depictions of dangerous beauty are often linked to his skill in printmaking, where he harnesses his significant technical knowledge to create a sense of the sublime.

Albrecht Dürer is an exceptionally gifted painter and printmaker of the Northern Renaissance period. Initially trained as a goldsmith, Dürer turned to printmaking as a young adult, producing woodcut prints for wide distribution, as well as engravings for a more specialized audience. He brought a level of technical skill to his profession that was groundbreaking and had a significant impact on artistic practice.

This exhibition was developed through the J. Paul Getty Foundation initiative, The Paper Project: Prints and Drawings Curatorship in the 21st Century, a program that supports training and professional development for curators of prints and drawings. Through this program, exhibition curator Steven McNeil participated in The Curating Prints Seminar co-organized by The Paper Project and the academic journal Print Quarterly in London, UK, in 2024. By supporting curators in navigating the demands of the 21st-century museum, both by preserving traditional skills that have been passed down through generations of specialists and by supporting efforts to make graphic arts collections accessible and relevant to today’s audiences. The Paper Project inspired the realization of Dangerous Beauty: The Prints of Albrecht Dürer.

About the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

With over 22,000 works of art, the AGGV has the largest public collection in British Columbia, including the most important collection of Asian art in Western Canada.

The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria connects people and art to build a better understanding of our world. We are an accessible gathering place for people to experience art through exhibitions, programs, and other media and to create spaces for conversation and learning. We responsibly steward the collections for future generations.

The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria acknowledges it is located on the traditional territories of the lək ̓ ʷəŋən Peoples, today known as the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations. As guests on these lands we extend our appreciation for the opportunity to live and learn on their territory

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