Martha Sturdy explores climate change through striking wooden sculptures in All Fall Down, to December 17

The acclaimed artist’s exhibition has themes of extreme weather and the cycle of life

Martha Sturdy: All Fall Down. Photo by Blaine Campbell

West Vancouver Art Museum presents Martha Sturdy: All Fall Down to December 17

MARTHA STURDY: ALL FALL DOWN features works that are completely unlike the polished minimalism many people associate with the acclaimed B.C. artist’s name.

Pulling into its final stretch, the exhibition features a series of sculptures Sturdy made from wood salvaged from a stand of ancient trees at her home in Pemberton. She treats the wood with fire then applies black stain and resin, emphasizing their inherent imperfections.

Selected because of their long, undulating forms to showcase grain and composition, these pieces of wood are a sharp contrast to smoothly milled lumber.

“The theme at the heart of the exhibition is climate change, so it is so very timely,” West Vancouver Art Museum curator Hilary Letwin tells Stir. “The intention of the artist is to confront us with the realities of forest fires, extreme weather, and the way in which we employ our natural resources, but also to spur us to act in finding solutions.

“This exhibition also features a temporary outdoor sculpture in the garden, which is unusual for us,” Letwin adds. “The four sculptures in the exhibition, collectively entitled All Fall Down, were purpose-made for the space and have never been exhibited for the public before. Martha has been a sculptor for her whole career—in small scale in the case of her jewellery—and while she has worked in wood for much of her life, her use of this material will likely surprise many who are accustomed to seeing her work in resin.”

Through the span of her career, Sturdy’s sculpture has remained focused on natural monumentality, here in jarring move to a more raw and rugged practice.

Having graduated with BFA in sculpture in 1978 from the Vancouver School of Art (now Emily Carr University of Art + Design, which has bestowed the artist with an honourary doctorate), Sturdy is a recipient of the Golden Jubilee Medal from the Governor General of Canada and has earned numerous other awards and accolades throughout her decades-long career.

Martha Sturdy: All Fall Down is free to attend. The exhibition publication is available for purchase ($35).

For more information, see West Vancouver Art Museum.