SHOW SUITE: ART MAY IMITATE LIFE, BUT FOR WIL ABALLE LIFE IN A MINI GALLERY BECOMES THE ART
Adrienne Matei, www.vanmag.com
Having noticed that the art he most admired rarely found its way into local shows, WAAP art proprietor Wil Aballe decided an exhibition space in his 450-square-foot Scotia Street apartment was as good as anywhere. “There are so many great young artists in Vancouver, but very few avenues to exhibit,” Aballe, 36, explains in his trim home, “but ultimately, art flourishes where there is a will.”
Or a Wil. In January 2013, after a three-year stint programming for the Contemporary Art Society of Vancouver, he set his sights on his studio’s “perfectly good” walls. “Galleries needn’t be stark cubes,” he says. Soon WAAP (“very Lichtenstein, like ‘BAM!’ It sounds like a slap”) had its first show. “Art is most interesting in a domestic setting where it’s integrated within a life.” For Aballe, that life coalesces comfortably with the challenging work that fascinates him, even when his daily existence is just that. “Most often I’m lying on the couch, laughing at YouTube videos. Then somebody rings the buzzer to come see the show, and it’s business as usual.