Free Daily May 18-June 1 | 10am-4pm | This May, coinciding with Salt Spring’s own legendary Canadian artist, educator, and conservationist Robert Bateman’s 95th birthday, comes an extraordinary never-before-seen exhibition Confluence: The Bateman Collection at ArtSpring.
While Robert is best known for his prolific body of work of highly realistic depictions of wildlife and nature, wife and artistic partner Birgit Bateman is also a venerable and much exhibited photographer. Together, they have been a life force not only in the art world, but in fundraising for and awareness of environmental causes.
Partners in life, in the studio, and in world travels, they have amassed a fascinating private collection from fellow artists who inspired the artistry within themselves, as well as cultural artifacts from adventure and advocacy journeys to Africa, Asia, both Poles, and here in the Pacific Northwest.
Hundreds of paintings, prints, sculptures, Indigenous pieces, fine art photography, personal family photos and story-filled artifacts have been meticulously curated by Zoe Zafiris-Casey and are being moved by hand from the Batemans’ home and storage to ArtSpring’s gallery for the first and only time.
What Works to Expect
According to long-time Executive Assistant Kate Brotchie, “When I was interviewed by Birgit and Robert in 1997, the first question Robert asked was, ‘What kind of art is on your walls?’” The thinking behind this question is now answered by the Batemans themselves for those curious about Robert and Birgit. Visitors will find a robust art collection that includes works by Arthur Lismer, Gordon Smith, Jack Shadbolt, Robert Motherwell, Ron Kingswood, Bruno Liljefors, Rockwell Kent and many more.
There will also be select works by both Birgit and Robert, including the original of his spectacular “Vancouver Island Elegy,” the large scale 1989 triptych piece that famously evokes a sense of loss and change on Vancouver Island in the face of logging and industrialization.
Birgit’s photography takes viewers from a flock of Demoiselle Cranes in Keechan, India to a Massai mother and daughter in Africa to the whale bone skull from St Lawrence Island, Alaska, as well as family snapshots of Robert with boat carvers in Papua New Guinea.
Pieces from members of their artistic family, including a touching painted portrait by eldest son Alan Bateman of his father in a canoe, also make the list.
From Inuit soapstone carvings and prints by famed Kenojuak Ashevak to photos and stories about Jane Goodall, sketches Robert did while birdwatching with Princess Takamado of Japan to Nigerian ceremonial bride pots to a commissioned painting for Princess Grace – the exhibition is a personal behind-the-scenes glimpse of the inspirations and cultural touchstones that represent the Batemans’ extraordinary life story.
A confluence of creativity, conservation, philanthropy, and most of all, love.
Zoe Zafiris-Casey, Curator Statement
“Robert and Birgit Bateman have a love story for the ages – a love of our planet, a love of education, a love of art, a love of family and friends, and a deep love for each other. Throughout the year-long process of curating this exhibition which showcases their never-before-exhibited collection of art and artifacts, they shared their stories with me with candour and warmth.
Each story was interwoven with details of people, place, and personal resonance. Tales of joining activists to end logging in caribou habitat, of an expedition with Canadian Geographic studying grizzlies in the First Nation’s Great Bear Rainforest and protesting the clear-cutting in the Carmanah Valley – to name but a few. Lifelong educators and learners, each visit had pearls of wisdom and queries about the natural world, artists past and present, history and current affairs. They also shared stories of cherished friends and fellow conservationists and activists, of artists and artisans they admire, and of their beloved family.
It was an immense gift to spend time with them both. This exhibition showcases a confluence of their many travels, friendships, conservation efforts, outreach, and artistic endeavours. I am indebted to their wonderful assistant of many years, Kate Brotchie, for her guidance and support throughout the curation process.”
