Lego as Self-Portrait, 2014
194 Lego bricks
edition of 25, 3 APs
This Artist Edition was created by Douglas Coupland specifically for the Vancouver Art Gallery’s Artist Edition program in relation to his first major survey exhibition Douglas Coupland: everywhere is anywhere is anything is everything on view at the Gallery from May 31 – September 1, 2014.
Douglas Coupland’s work often incorporates everyday materials and objects such as toys, models, pencils and books, to investigate the way things, images and processes of contemporary life affect our understanding of the world around us. One of his favourite art supplies, Coupland has used Lego to create artworks such as Towers and 345 Modern House which are both on view in his solo exhibition. In Lego as Self-Portrait he uses Lego to create an abstract portrait of himself, stacking the blocks vertically until the column replicates his exact height; the work consists of 194 Lego bricks, hermetically sealed inside a clear Plexiglas sleeve.
Douglas Coupland was born in 1961 at the Royal Canadian Airforce base in Baden-Söllingen, West Germany and moved with his family to West Vancouver, British Columbia in 1965. Coupland studied at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design (now University,) graduating in 1984. In 1991, he published his first novel, Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture to wide acclaim and subsequently published 14 novels as well as 7 works of non-fiction. He has had solo exhibitions at Or Gallery Berlin (2014); SFU Gallery, Burnaby (2007); Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal (2005); Canadian High Commission, London (2004); and DX Design Exchange, Toronto (2004.) His work has also been included in numerous group exhibitions including those at Abrons Art Centre, Brooklyn (2013); Manchester Art Gallery (2013); Mass MoCA, North Adams (2012); Museet Moderne, Malmö (2012); Serpentine Gallery, London (2012); Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina (2008) travelling to Mount St. Vincent Art Gallery, Halifax and MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie (2009); Center for Contemporary Arts, Prague (2008); Cambridge Galleries (2008); Plug-In ICA, Winnipeg (2008); and JFK Terminal 5, New York (2004.) Coupland is represented by Daniel Faria Gallery in Toronto. Coupland is the recipient of numerous awards including honorary doctorates from Emily Carr University (2000), Simon Fraser University (2007), Mount Allison University (2011), University of British Columbia (2012) and OCAD University (2013.) In January 2014, he was awarded the Order of Canada.