In 2010, Jim Denevan was selected for the Vancouver Biennale, renowned as the “World’s Open Air Museum.” The Biennale is unique among art exhibitions, emphasizing accessibility and public engagement by placing museum-quality works in Vancouver’s public spaces over a two-year span. The 2010 Winter Olympics, with its global audience, highlighted the Biennale’s significance and allowed it to expand beyond Vancouver to include locations in Richmond, Port Moody, and at the Surrey Art Gallery, reaching a broader community.
Denevan’s free-hand piece, created on June 23, 2010, was supported by 15 Vancouver Biennale volunteers.
Denevan completed a vast, intricate pattern in the sand that stretched across Spanish Banks. This temporary artwork, crafted directly onto the landscape, underscored the fleeting nature of Denevan’s practice and the interplay between art and the natural world, making it one of the most transient installations in the Vancouver Biennale’s history.