Ian Wallace (artist)

Ian Wallace (born 1943) is a British-born Canadian artist, living and working in Vancouver, British Columbia. Wallace has been an influential figure in the development of an internationally acknowledged photographic and conceptual art practice in Vancouver called the Vancouver School since 1965.

Artistic practice
Wallace has exhibited painting and photography nationally and internationally since 1965. He is known for juxtaposing monochrome painting and photography in a way that problematizes the differences between the two mediums, referencing aesthetic and social issues through themes of the studio, the museum and the street.

Education and teaching
Wallace was raised in British Columbia and studied art history and theory at the University of British Columbia. During that time, Wallace became involved with Vancouver's artistic scene as a musician and poet while also exploring an interest in Conceptual art. In later photographic and collage work, he would explore the relationships between art forms, including those of photography and painting, as well as language and art.

Wallace taught art history at the University of British Columbia the from 1967 to 1970, and then at the Vancouver School of Art (now Emily Carr University of Art and Design) from 1972 to 1998, where he taught a contemporary art course titled Art Now that was one of the earliest to introduce the art of the recent past into the art history curriculum. As a professor, he has had a significant role in shaping the contemporary art scene and advised artist, such as Kelly Wood. Through his emphasis on the importance of a knowledge of art history, his support for visiting artist programs, and his progressive courses that examined the common history of various media including film, photography, and painting, Wallace influenced a generation of artists emerging from the Vancouver scene, including members of the so-called Vancouver School of artists, Jeff Wall, Ken Lum, Stan Douglas, Roy Arden and Rodney Graham.

Awards
In 2004, Wallace received a Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts. He was also named an Officer of the Order of Canada, second highest honour for merit, in December 2012. In 2016 he was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.