Join us for the launch of the Special Edition Boxset of Lam Wong's Pandemic Drawings with Lam Wong in conversation with Grant Arnold on August 2nd at 1:00 pm.

Lam Wong and Grant Arnold will be discussing the 2021-2022 exhibition Vancouver Special: Disorientations and Echo co-curated by Grant Arnold at Vancouver Art Gallery where Wong’s works Original Mind and Pandemic Drawings were first exhibited. Reflecting on Vancouver's art ecology and the experience of the immigrant artist, they will explore how Wong's practice examines Ch'an within the combination of Western and Eastern sensibilities. The conversation will examine how these intersecting influences shape Wong's artistic vision and practice through painting, drawing, multimedia installation, photography, and tea ceremonies.

Created during the stillness of the 2020 lockdown, Pandemic Drawings began as a return to drawing—simple, direct, and deeply personal. Each work was completed in one continuous sitting, without sketches, guided by instinct and first thought. The result is a collection of intimate drawings that reflect quiet time, focused attention, and the natural rhythm of making.

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Lam is a visual artist, designer and curator based in Vancouver BC. His interest is primarily rooted in regional West Coast art history, with an emphasis on the development of painting and its avant-garde narrative. Lam’s creative approach is often concerning with bending Eastern philosophies and challenging the notion of painting.

Grant Arnold is an independent writer and curator based in Vancouver. He previously held positions at the Mendel Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of Windsor and the Vancouver Art Gallery, where he was the Audain Curator of British Columbia Art from 2005 to 2022. His writing has appeared in many exhibition catalogues, anthologies and journals over the past thirty-five years.