Equinox Gallery on South Granville presents an exhibition of works by Artist Takao Tanabe until March 7, 2012.

Tanabe has had a long and distinguished career as a Canadian landscape painter. His paintings are done in acrylic characteristically executed in thin washes which have a subtle, translucent quality reminiscent of watercolour.

For more information visit:

Equinox Gallery
2321 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC, V6H 3G4
Phone 604-736-2405
Email info@equinoxgallery.com
www.equinoxgallery.com

Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday 10am – 5pm
or by appointment

Pictured above:

Inside Passage 1/98 (A)
Acrylic on Canvas, 35″ x 56″
Takao Tanabe

About Equinox Gallery
One of Vancouver’s leading galleries, the Equinox Gallery was founded by Elizabeth Nichol in 1972. From the beginning, Equinox Gallery has been committed to presenting the work of local and Canadian artists in the context of an international program. Read more

Source: www.equinoxgallery.com

When Mark Taylor, owner and sommelier at Cru (1459 West Broadway), decided to open another restaurant, he knew exactly the type of neighbourhood joint it would be: simple, casual Mediterranean food and wine served in the South Granville area he’s resided in for the past nine years.

Siena (1485 12th Avenue), which opened in February, is just that—a “once-a-week restaurant,” Taylor told the Straight by phone. “The idea is affordability.”

Inspired by his travels to the Mediterranean, Taylor said that he initially wanted to open an Italian restaurant, but then decided to include French and Spanish offerings on the menu and wine list as well.

“It expands our options. I come at most things with a wine perspective,” Taylor said.

The menu, which has a rustic, mostly Italian feel, was a collaborative effort between long-time Cru executive chef Alana Peckham and sous chef Tim Evans, who will be leading the kitchen at Siena. Highlights include housemade pastas ($15 to $18), such as braised lamb ravioli and Qualicum Bay scallop risotto; small plates ($6 to $12), such as grilled squid with chorizo stuffing; and entrée-sized proteins ($21), such as grilled sirloin. The restaurant will also have a list of daily chalkboard specials that includes a fish of the day at market price.

Similar to Cru, Taylor will be in charge of the wine selection at Siena, which he says will be limited to a constantly rotating 20 to 30 bottles from the Mediterranean region.

“It’ll be mostly wines that aren’t available through the regular B.C. liquor stores as I find them,” Taylor said.

The 42-seat restaurant is currently open from 5 p.m. nightly. The dinner menu is available until 10 p.m., and the bar menu is offered until 11 p.m. Taylor is looking to add a brunch menu, which will continue Siena’s Mediterranean theme, for weekends and holidays shortly.

“I imaging a good savoury tarte, a frittata… No eggs over-easy or bacon, but then again, nothing too exotic and weird—just comfort food,” he said. “The neighbourhood has a couple of options, but I think there’s lots of room for brunch here.

You can follow Michelle da Silva on Twitter at twitter.com/michdas.

Source: www.straight.com

Throughout their lives Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse created an impressive body of works. They expressed their creativity through a wide variety of media, like painting, sculpture, ceramic, murals and printmaking as well. Besides the superior technical skills they possessed, the delicacy and expressiveness of these graphic works is most fascinating.

Picasso said, “You have got to be able to picture side by side everything Matisse and I were doing at that time. No one has ever looked at Matisse’s painting more carefully than I; and no one has looked at mine more carefully than he.”

Now all of you have the chance to look carefully at both of these masters’ original art works. The Chali-Rosso Art Gallery express their respect to these great artists by presenting an exhibition of their works.

Opening Reception
Thursday, February 16, 2012
6pm
Some champagne may pop up as well.

Beside the Picasso-Matisse Exhibition, the Chali-Rosso Art Gallery will also be showing their permanent collection of other Modern Masters such as Marc Chagall, Salvador Dalí and Joan Miró.

Chali-Rosso Gallery
2250 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC V6H 4H7
Phone: 604-733-3594
Email: gallery@chalirosso.com
www.chalirosso.com

Gallery Hours:
Tuesday to Sunday
11am – 6pm

Pictured above top:

Portrait-charge d’un personnage, en larmes – Caricature of a Character in Tears
Etching, 8″ x 5.75″ on 13.75″ x 11.125″
Pablo Picasso

Pictured above bottom:

Tête de jeune fille
Lithograph, 7.6″ x 5.3″ on 11.75″ x 8.15″ paper
Henri Matisse

Source:
Chali-Rosso Gallery

The obligatory giving of flowers, candy and cards often makes Valentine’s Day—supposedly a holiday for celebrating true love—seem like just another example of consumerism gone mad.

But collectors can take heart. With more cards, candy tins and cuddly teddy bears on the marketplace than you can shake a cupid’s arrow at, Valentine’s Day keepsakes are a surefire source of the warm and fuzzies. And at generally reasonable prices, they’re a good investment, too.

The holiday as we celebrate it today is a whole lot sweeter than its pagan origins. Valentine’s Day is believed to be a Christianized offshoot of Lupercalia, a fertility festival celebrated on Feb. 15 in ancient Rome. Modern lovers can thank Pope Gelasius for recognizing that the pagan traditions of Lupercalia—frenzied boys slapping womenfolk with strips of goat hide soaked in sacrificial blood, for instance, and a crude lottery system that allowed randy bachelors to literally pull the names of their mates out of a communal urn—were not only un-Christian but downright un-romantic, as well.

Lupercalia out, St. Valentine in

Around 498 A.D., the pope gave a thumb’s down to Lupercalia and decreed Feb. 14 would be celebrated as a Christian feast day in honor of St. Valentine—but which one? Historians disagree because there were no less than three third-century Christian saints named Valentine or Valentinus. Supposedly, they were all martyred on the same date—Feb. 14.

Tales of these mystery-enshrouded religious figures’ heroism and propensity for romance gave rise to numerous legends. One of the most popular has a lovelorn priest named Valentine, confined to jail and awaiting his death sentence, writing a letter to his beloved and signing it “From Your Valentine,” a catchy sentiment that would live forevermore.

Over the centuries, Valentine’s Day evolved into a day specifically set aside for lovers. A pivotal event occurred in 1414 when Charles, the Duke of Orleans, a prisoner of war in the Tower of London, penned a love poem to his wife on—you guessed it—Feb. 14. That heartfelt note, still in existence, is considered the earliest known valentine.

Pictured above: Antique Valentine’s card

By the late 1700s, Britishers’ fondness for exchanging small tokens of love on Valentine’s Day, including handwritten notes and homemade cards bedecked with lace, satin and ribbon, gave way to commercially printed, ready-made cards featuring poeticized sentiments.

Pictured: 1909 Ullman card

In America, entrepreneur Esther A. Howland became known as “The Mother of the Valentine” in the 1840s for her pioneering card designs marrying elaborate floral and lace decorations with such enduring sentimental motifs as bleeding hearts, turtledoves, cupids and lovers’ knots. Today, Americans send about a billion valentine cards every year, second only to Christmas, which boasts a 2.6 billion-card volume annually.

The 20th century saw the advent of more whimsical and humorous valentine cards, particularly in America, where schoolchildren adopted the tradition of Valentine’s Day parties, often built around crepe paper-decorated valentine boxes for collecting store-bought cards from classmates.

Pictured: Small boy in uniform
 
 

For decades, children’s valentines, commonly sold in classroom-sized packs, have typically featured lovesick cartoon animals and cherubic kids delivering pun-filled declarations of puppy love. Highly sought after among collectors, mechanical valentines dating from the 1930s-1950s are among the most charming valentine ephemera.

Pictured: Mechanical bunny
 
 
 

The aphrodisiac properties of chocolate have been appreciated for centuries, but it wasn’t until the 1860s that British chocolatier Richard Cadbury had the genius idea of putting the food of love—or maybe just lust—in a heart-shaped box. Victorian swains on both sides of the pond found it a dandy way to woo their valentines, and a courtly tradition was born. Today, Americans purchase some 38 million heart-shaped boxes of candy every Valentine’s Day.
 
 
Pictured: Fairbrook candy tin

Heart-shaped valentine tins dating from the early to mid 1900s are highly collectible, particularly those from legendary brands like Hershey, Whitman and Fanny Farmer. On the contemporary front, collectors get all shook up over Russell Stover’s long-running line of Elvis Presley valentine tins.
 
 
Pictured: Elvis Presley tins

In recent years, Valentine’s Day teddy bears have gained in popularity as both collectibles and alternative romantic gifts. Vintage teddies by Ideal and Knickerbocker command premium prices in exceptional condition. With dozens of Valentine’s Day editions available, Ty’s Beanie Baby Bears and American Greetings’ Care Bears offer collectors unending possibilities to express their ursine ardor.

Pictured: 1940s teddy bear

Pictured: Isenberg teddy bear

Pictured: KISS-e Ty Beanie Baby

Pictured: Tenderheart Care Bear

Bau-Xi Gallery on South Granville presents an exhibition of work by Sylvia Tait until February 25, 2012.

Tait’s solo exhibition “Alternative Voices” will showcase her new paintings and works on paper.

For more information visit:

Bau-Xi Gallery
3045 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC V6H 3J6
Phone: 604-733-7011
Email:info@bau-xi.com
www.bau-xi.com

Hours:
Monday to Saturday
10am – 5:30pm
Sunday
12 – 4pm

Pictured above:

Alternative Voices
oil on canvas, 36″ x 48″
Sylvia Tait

Source:
www.bau-xi.com

To our friends at the Vancouver Sun:

We have known each other for a lot of years – 100 to be exact. In fact, we were neighbours for over 30 years when you had your offices in South Granville with the naked sculpture by Jack Harman by the the front door – remember that? Scandalous!

The world is changing all around us and the road ahead is certainly unpredictable for both of us.

If the last 20 years are any indication, we may not recognize ourselves by 2050.

That said, there is one thing that will never change – our friendship.

Happy Anniversary. May there be many more.

The Kurbatoff Art Gallery on South Granville is pleased to present an amazing variety of new works by their wonderful Canadian artists in rotating group exhibitions throughout February.

For more information visit:

Kurbatoff Art Gallery
2435 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC V6H 3G5
Phone: 604-736-5444
Email: art@kurbatoffgallery.com
www.kurbatoffgallery.com

Gallery Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday
10:30am – 5:30pm
Sunday
12-5pm

Pictured above:

Golden Islands
acrylic on canvas, 48″ x 72″
Eva Kolacz

Source:
Kurbatoff Art Gallery

Children of the Lower Mainland, join Pottery Barn Kids on South Granville for this special tea-time event in celebration of Valentine’s Day. Get dressed up and take in your favourite doll or teddy bear for an afternoon of refreshments, stories and crafts. There are two times for this event. The first tea party takes place from 3-4pm and the second from 4-5pm.

Saturday, Feb 11, 2012
3-4pm and 4-5pm
Pottery Barn Kids
Valentine’s Day Doll Tea Party

Please keep in mind that Pottery Barn Kids events are quite popular and to attend this event, an RSVP is required by calling Pottery Barn Kids at 604-638-7494, in order to secure a spot for your little one. Be sure to RSVP as early as possible. Pottery Barn Kids’ activities can include things like a book club, crafts, holiday celebrations, decorating classes, and more!

Each month Pottery Barn Kids offers a series of events and activities for children that will be of special interest to parents and anyone who has any children in their lives.

For more information about this special event and all of the activities each month from Pottery Barn Kids on South Granville, visit www.potterybarnkids.ca/events.

Pottery Barn Kids
2933 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC V6H 3J6
Phone/RSVP 604-638-7494
www.potterybarnkids.ca

Source: Pottery Barn Kids

Marion Scott Gallery and Kardosh Projects present Colour, an exhibition of works by Gallery Artists until March 4, 2012. On display will be works by Tony Anguhalluq, Arnaqu Ashevak, Kenojuak Ashevak, Elisapee Ishulutaq, Ningeokuluk Teevee, Jamasie Pitseolak, Annie Pootoogook and more.

For more information visit:

Marion Scott Gallery/Kardosh Projects
2423 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC V6H 3G5
Phone 604-685-1934
Email art@marionscottgallery.com
www.marionscottgallery.com

Gallery Hours
Tuesday to Saturday 10am-6pm
Sunday 12-5pm

Pictured above:

Two Inuit are out Fishing for the Weekend in Jun, 2009
stonecut & stencil, 24″ x 39″
Tony Anguhalluq

Source: Marion Scott Gallery

• Each 1½ to 2-hour class features cooking tips and techniques and a three-course tasting menu from the book’s best recipes, prepared while you watch.
• Class fee of $75 includes the cookbook with signed bookplate.
• Participants receive a 10% discount on store purchases the day of the class.
• Space is limited and reservations are required. Call the South Granville store at 778-330-2581 to register.

February Cookbook Club Book: The Supper Club
by Susie Cover

Event Date & Time:
February 8, 2012
6pm

With expert advice for busy parents, this solution-driven cookbook offers a modern approach to getting dinner on the table and ensures that it’s a meal that the whole family will enjoy. The fresh and delicious recipes are designed to entice kids and adults alike.

Susie Cover is the founder of Susie’s Supper Club, a prepared-food delivery service known for kidfriendly dishes made with organic, locally grown ingredients. Based in New York, she is a former caterer and private chef and a mother of two.

On the menu:
Spiced Popcorn two ways
Carrot-Ginger Soup
Chicken Tikka Ala Mary
Zucchini Fritters
Jasmine Rice with Dried Fruit and Pine Nuts
Lemon Mousse

Contact Williams-Sonoma for more information and to register:

Williams-Sonoma
on South Granville
2903 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC V6H 3J6
Phone 778-330-2581
www.williams-sonoma.com

Source: Williams-Sonoma