Ready Player 2

Sonny Assu and Brendan Lee Satish Tang
Organized and circulated by the Reach Gallery Museum Abbotsford
Curated by Laura Schneider

Brendan Lee Satish Tang and Sonny Assu combine elements from science fiction, comic book, and gaming cultures to consider how these forms alternately reinforce and transcend racial boundaries in youth culture. In their individual practices, Tang and Assu frequently negotiate the material and conceptual dynamics of culture and ethnicity.  Informed by their mixed-race backgrounds and experiences of Canadian life in the 1980s and 1990s, for this exhibition the artists bring together found objects, selections from previous bodies of work, and new collaborative pieces to create immersive spaces that evoke the adolescent sanctuaries of their time: the basement, the arcade, and the comic book store.

Sonny Assu was raised in North Delta, BC, over 250 km away from his home ancestral home on unceded Ligwildaʼxw territory (Campbell River, BC.). Along with his extensive exhibition record Assu has been long-listed for the Sobey Art Award three times and his work can be found in numerous collections including the National Gallery of Canada, Seattle Art Museum, Vancouver Art Gallery, and the Burke Museum at the University of Washington.  He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Concordia University. 

Brendan Lee Satish Tang was born in Dublin to Trinidadian parents of Chinese and South Asian descent and lives in Vancouver, BC. He earned his formal art education on both Canadian coasts and the American Midwest. Tang has participated in residencies and exhibitions internationally and was a nominee for the 2017 LOEWE Craft Prize, an annual international award celebrating excellence in craftsmanship. He has lectured at conferences and academic institutions across the continent, and is currently a sessional instructor at Emily Carr University.

This exhibition is generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts

Exhibition Dates

Jan 16 – March 7, 2020

Opening Reception

Thursday Jan 16
5 PM – 8 PM

Gallery Hours

Tues – Fri, 12 – 6 PM
Sat, 12 – 4 PM

all photos courtesy Jeremy Pavka

Public Programs

Gallery Tour with Ready Player 2 artist Brendan Lee Satish Tang and Curator Laura Schneider
Friday January 17, 2020
1-2pm

Sínulkhay and Ladders: Decolonizing Practices
Workshop for AUArts Aahwaatkamooksi Peer mentorship group
Led by Michelle Nahanee, Nahanee Creative inc.
Wednesday January 29, 2020
1-4:30pm

Benjamin Hoy, The Power of the Past in Historical and Contemporary Games
Wednesday January 29, 2020
4pm
Stanford Perrott Lecture Theatre, AUArts

Board Game Night with Benjamin Hoy and in partnership with FallCon Gaming Society
Thursday January 30, 2020
5-9pm

Lynda Barry: Drawing Words and Speaking Pictures
Workshop for AUArts Students
Wednesday February 12
10am – 1pm

Lynda Barry: Drawn Together: Race, Class and The Universal Language of Creativity
Wednesday February 12
6pm
Stanford Perrott Lecture Theatre
*books for sale from Shelf Life Books and book signing after the event

COMIX Market
Marketplace for local comics artists
Wednesday February 12
5:30-9:30pm

Sonny Assu: Artist Talk
Tuesday March 3
2pm
Stanford Perrott Lecture Theatre, AUArts

All programs are free and open to the public

Press

Best of 2020: 10 Works of Art in Calgary

Work of Art: Manga Ormolu Ver. 5.0-Q by Brendan Lee Satish Tang