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Opening this September 20, 2012<\/strong>, the Museum of Vancouver (MOV) is pleased to present the first time extensive solo exhibition of internationally acclaimed, Vancouver-born artist, Tobias Wong in Object(ing): The art\/design of Tobias Wong.<\/em><\/p>\n Wong has been lauded as \u201ccontemporary design\u2019s most nimble provocateur\u201d by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and is considered a forerunner of conceptual design. He appropriated, manipulated, manufactured, mass-produced, and re-issued everyday objects \u2014 from candies and dollar bills to box cutters and neon signs \u2014 pouring new meanings into them in the process. Like many pioneers, his art both seduced and upset.<\/p>\n \u201cTobias\u2019 work and artistic trajectory are fascinating,\u201d explains Viviane Gosselin, MOV curator and project lead. \u201cI view Tobias as a poet who didn\u2019t play with words but with objects; most of the time, familiar ones. He took the mundane, the utilitarian, and turned it into incredible sculptures. People \u2018get it\u2019 because it\u2019s funny or it connects to popular culture and current events. However, more deeply considered, you can see all these clever references to the history of art\/design.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Wong was a \u2018Vancouver boy\u2019, his work is better known internationally than in his hometown. Leaving when he was 20 to study architecture in Toronto, he eventually moved to NYC to attend the sculpture program at the prestigious Cooper Union School of Art in 1998. His career soon took off in a big way, provoking responses from globally recognized designers like Alessi, Philippe Starck, Karim Rashid, and brands including Burberry. Wong kept close ties with his friends, family, and collaborators in Vancouver. He came back regularly and worked with people here.<\/p>\n The show will feature over 50 pieces, including well known items like Bulletproof Quilted Duvet<\/em>, the Ottoman<\/em>, the \u201cI Want to Change the World<\/em>\u201d book, and This is a Lamp<\/em>. Some items have been re-issued specifically for this project (based on documentation and assistance of original collaborators). Reissuing works will allow new audiences to see pieces like Room Partition,<\/em> the Anus<\/em> sign that hung in the window of his NYC East Village apartment, Chocolate Wood<\/em> produced in collaboration with Chocolate Arts , and a series of candies created for Papabubble, a high end candy store based in NYC.<\/p>\n Wong passed away suddenly in 2010 at age 35 in his home in New York City. The MOV has been incredibly fortunate to work with close friends, collaborators, family and guest curator and project instigator Todd Falkowsky in making this exhibition a reality. The exhibition has mobilized the participation of over 50 collectors, curators, and artists from Vancouver, NYC, San Francisco, UK, and elsewhere, including pop culture commentator and artist Douglas Coupland and senior curator of design from the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Paola Antonelli.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “I no longer worry about what title people give me,<\/p>\n I\u2019m happy being whatever fits the context.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t draft or create models\/prototypes,<\/p>\n I don\u2019t problem solve,<\/p>\n and I definitely don\u2019t make things to make life easier.”<\/p>\n \u2014 Tobias Wong<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"