Wood Wonders: The Art of Grove Front Gallery

Step into the Grove Front Gallery on Sechelt’s waterfront promenade: artisan, model ships immediately pique your interest. Flame-like wooden sculptures beckon for a closer look. Whimsical, wooden bowties make you smile. As you wander, the gallery’s floor-to-ceiling windows look out over the Salish Sea, providing a serene, expansive backdrop for showcasing the ships, as well as fine wood art and thoughtfully-designed wood accessories from BC artists.

Owners Jimmy Cheng and Sabrina Wang were inspired to open Grove Front because of the handcrafted, historical ship replicas they encountered while on a trip to Mauritius. “I’d never seen any other place that showcased ship models, other than the Vancouver Maritime Museum,” starts Cheng.
“In Mauritius, the art of making these ships has been going on for generations,” continues Wang. “Each ship has a place in history and they make them with such detail, so that’s really what attracted us to bringing them back and introducing them here.”

It took a year for them to find the right location. During the process, they decided to include wood art from BC artists and designers, not just the ships. “We have so many different artists right now and so many different styles,” describes Wang, “but in general, we’re leaning more towards fine woodworking—those who have a more creative approach, as opposed to those who have a raw, more organic style.”

The gallery’s design supports this elegant aesthetic. Beautiful, wooden display units are easily artworks in themselves: minimalist, walnut display shelves face the windows, walnut-framed glass cases hold jewellery, and a substantial central island adds warmth to the space. Vancouver-based furniture designers In Element Design custom made the freestanding display cases and shelving.

Although first-time gallery owners, Cheng and Wang are not wholly unfamiliar with the arts. Weng studied film and directing, while Chang has been a photographer and videographer for nine years.

This past year marked Grove Front’s first, and they have received great local support, especially from the Suncoast Woodcrafters Guild and the Inside Passage School of Fine Cabinetmaking. The gallery hosts the school’s graduations and features graduates’ work if they so choose. After graduation, students are invited to leave their work in the gallery for three months.

“In our first year, we didn’t really know what to expect, but after our grand opening, we got a lot of support from the local arts community and got invited to local art events,” reflects Cheng. “For the Art Crawl last year, we got over 500 people throughout the weekend. It really helped our gallery’s local artists gain more exposure.” Artists and designers are welcome to bring their work to the gallery for consideration or send photos via email.

Cheng and Wang hope Grove Front becomes a world-renowned destination. “We want to start by helping local, BC wood artists because there are some really talented ones,” says Wang. “We want to offer them a platform. After that, we want international wood artists to join us as well.”
Visit www.grovefront.com for more details about gallery opening times and current artists.