Ian Wallace’s
In the Street series (1988–1989) represents a pivotal development in his sustained engagement with the visual, social, and theoretical dimensions of urban space. As a key figure in the development of photo-conceptualism in Canada, Wallace has consistently examined the intersection of painting and photography, bringing theoretical strategies to bear on questions of representation, spectatorship, and [removed];
In the Street extends and refines the critical concerns first articulated in earlier works such as the
Poverty series (early 1980s), while also marking an important moment of international recognition with Wallace’s first solo exhibition with Greta Meert in Brussels in 1989, ushering in the gallery’s second year.
Ian Wallace (b. 1943 Shoreham, England) is a central figure in the development of conceptual art in Vancouver, a movement that has garnered international recognition since the early 1970s. Alongside artists such as Rodney Graham, Ken Lum and Jeff Wall, he has played a formative role in shaping the city’s distinctive approach to photo-conceptualism. His career began in the mid 1960s when he accepted a professorship at the University of British Columbia, where he would go on to influence a generation of artists, including Jeff Wall. Balancing his academic career with his artistic practice, Wallace continued to teach until the late 1990s while simultaneously refining a visual language that integrates the formalism of monochrome painting with the indexicality of documentary photography. His sustained engagement with avant-garde strategies, particularly those emerging from modernist and conceptual traditions, underscores his critical contribution to the contemporary art discourse.