Jan Wade

Jan Wade was born in 1952 in Hamilton, Ontario, to a Black Canadian father with familial origins in the American South and a Canadian mother of European descent. Raised in a close-knit Black community, her formative years were heavily influenced by her local African Methodist Episcopal Church. She was also greatly shaped by Southern United States Black culture and aesthetics through her paternal grandmother and great-grandmother. Wade studied at the Ontario College of Art and Design (1972 – 1976) and moved to Vancouver in 1981 where she became part of the underground art and music scene in the city. During this period, Wade fully embraced her interest in handmade aesthetics and began her ongoing research into African diasporic spiritual practices—influences that continue to reverberate through her work today. Spanning more than three decades, Wade’s corpus will be the subject of a major exhibition titled Soul Power at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2021. Around 2009, Wade began making embroideries, working on pieces of spare cloth. The influence of Southern American quilting and African and African-American / Canadian textile traditions heavily influence these colourful abstract works. Indigenous basketry and weaving are also important reference points. The artist views her embroideries, and the act of their making, as a form of healing, a source of joy and an extension of kinship. This dense, rhythmically patterned work is part of Wade’s Breathe series, comprising over 100 textile pieces. This work is unframed. Please note: Consignor Hammer Price proceeds of this lot will benefit the Vancouver Art Gallery. The Buyer is hereby advised to read fully the Terms and Conditions of Business and Catalogue Terms, including the Vancouver Art Gallery Art Auction 2021 | Spring Forward HO2 Sale Notice and Special Terms of Sale, and any Addendum or Erratum specific to the Vancouver Art Gallery Art Auction 2021 | Spring Forward HO2 auction.