Over the recent weeks leading up to the Eastside Culture Crawl, The Hamilton Bank Building’s studio-artist Kate MacDonald has been working hard on a special new piece – The VIP Room – to be a new permanent art installation in the Hamilton Bank Building lobby!
Kate MacDonald is a multidisciplinary artist working in pixels and paint. Her digital and physical art has been exhibited worldwide, and her paintings have been featured in Wired and international editions of GQ magazine. Kate has been recognized as a Top Ten Digital Artist in international competition in 2012, 2017 and 2024 by the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art (LACDA). She collaborates with artist Les Sears as
K8L35, working out of the Hamilton Bank Building since 2013.
Take a peak inside Kate’s studio at the Hamilton Bank Building…
VIP Room by Kate MacDonald
“Always knew it’d be like this when I was in the kitchen” – Jay-Z
“VIP Room” portrays the artists Salvador Dali and John Holmwood at a lavish banquet. Dali as the celebrated host, extends an overflowing glass for a refill, embodying both the charisma and absurdity that define his persona. Portrayed as waiter, painter John Holmwood clears glassware onto his palette in poignant commentary on the roles we play in the spectacle of success. Holmwood, often overlooked by the giants of the art world, emerges as a figure of subtle strength and dignity, embodying the unrecognized labor that underpins fame. His attentive service juxtaposes Dalí’s flamboyance, inviting viewers to consider the unseen contributions that sustain the myth of celebrity.
An examination of the duality of public personas and private struggles, the collage explores our definitions of success, the roles we inhabit, and the underlying tensions that define the world of art and its celebrated figures.
Vancouver’s Eastside Culture Crawl is an annual 4-day visual arts, design and crafts
festival in November that involves 500+ artists on Vancouver’s Eastside opening their studio to the public. The event involves painters, jewellers, sculptors, furniture makers, weavers, potters, printmakers, photographers, glassblowers, and more; from emerging artists to those internationally established.