Embodied Conversations: The Lillian and Billy Mauer Collection | Griffin Art Projects

Griffin Art Projects opens the new year by offering the public a first look at a selection of works from two influential Montreal collectors in Embodied Conversations: The Lillian and Billy Mauer Collection, on view from January 31th to May 10th. The Mauer’s extensive collection holds more than 400 works by over 300 Canadian and international artists, this exhibition will present roughly 40 pieces that reflect the depth and breadth of artistic practices that have captured their interest since they began collecting more than four decades ago.

This exhibition features several works by iconic Black American artists. Carrie Mae Weems’s You Became a Scientific Profile appropriates historical photographs commissioned by a Harvard University scientist that were meant to support racist theories. Lorna Simpson’s photographic diptych Outline juxtaposes everyday words with photographs to evoke the lived Black experience. And Lorraine O’Grady’s Art Is… photographs (above) of the 1983 African-American Day Parade in Harlem, in which she invited onlookers into the art-making experience, are a prominent part of the presentation.

Embodied Conversations: The Lillian and Billy Mauer Collection, on view from January 31 to May 10, 2026 at Griffin Art Projects, 1174 Welch St, North Vancouver.  For more information, visit griffinartprojects.ca/upcoming-exhibitions.