Latest news with #BobRennie
The Province
9 hours ago
- Business
- The Province
Bob Rennie donates $22.8 million in art to the National Gallery of Canada: 'We want the works to be shown'
The Vancouver real estate marketer and his family have donated 61 works to the Ottawa gallery, valued at $22.8 million Bob Rennie with some of his art collection in Vancouver on Monday. Photo by Arlen Redekop / PNG Vancouver real estate marketer Bob Rennie is starting to think about his legacy, and where to place some of the 4,000-plus works in his art collection. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors The National Gallery of Canada appears to be at the top of his list. On Monday, the Ottawa institution announced Rennie and his family had donated 61 works to the gallery, valued at $22.8 million. The trove includes 40 works by the late Vancouver artist Rodney Graham and three works by Ai Weiwei, the outspoken contemporary art superstar from China. There are also 10 pieces by Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum, a large installation by British artist Yinka Shonibare, and three works by the late American artist Dan Graham, among others. Rennie has already donated a couple of hundred works to the National Gallery, bringing the total to 260 pieces of art valued at $35 million. 'I'm 69,' said Rennie, a wildly successful real estate marketer and internationally known art collector. 'My kids don't have the capacity to manage this collection, so I want a custodian that is better than me and that is well-funded for conservation, preservation, (and) lending.' Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Bob Rennie with the Francesco Vezzoli gilt bronze sculpture Portrait of Sophia Loren as the Muse of Antiquity (After Giorgio de Chirico). Photo by Arlen Redekop / PNG He also notes the National Gallery has a new position designed 'to make sure that there's a lending practice across Canada to major, modest and small museums. We want the works to be shown.' There may be more art on the way. 'We're discussing two major Kerry James Marshall works,' he said. 'I think (the gallery was) surprised that we might be willing to give them, because they're extremely valuable.' That isn't hype. A Marshall painting sold for $21.1 million US at Sotheby's auction in 2018. 'It's very hard for museums to keep up with contemporary market prices,' he said. To get expensive works, art galleries rely on donations. Rennie said for a collector, donating art is like 'you're marrying off your children.' 'You hope that they're marrying the right person, and the journey will be protected,' he said. 'And that's been our relationship with the National Gallery. We've been (that way) ever since our first donation to them 20 years ago. We've been very comfortable.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Rennie had local shows of his collection for a couple of decades at his own gallery in Chinatown, located at the historic Wing Sang building. Many of the works he has donated were at shows at his gallery, including a Rodney Graham exhibition. 'I wanted to keep (the Graham works) all together, and (thought) the National Gallery would be a really safe place for it,' he said. Artist Rodney Graham inside the Rennie Gallery in Vancouver in 2014. Bob Rennie has donated 40 Graham works to the National Gallery in Ottawa. Photo by Arlen Redekop / Vancouver Sun A neon globe that was the centrepiece of Mona Hatoum's show at the Rennie gallery is not going to the National Gallery, however. He donated it to a museum in Venice. He sold the Wing Sang building to the province in 2022, which converted it into a Chinese Canadian Museum. Much of his focus now is on lending art from his collection for exhibitions. He currently has 62 artworks on loan around the world, and is lending some Marshall paintings to an exhibition that will open this fall at the Royal Academy in London, England. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. His collection is largely focused on what he calls 'raising artists' voices.' 'Social justice is too weak a word. It's used too often,' he said. 'But raising artists' voices and making sure that topics of our time are raised.' He has blue-chip international art connections. He is chair of the collections committee at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. After 17 years of association with the Tate Gallery in London, he stepped down as president of the Tate Americas Foundation last November. He has also been a critic of the Vancouver Art Gallery's proposal to build a new facility. But he had breakfast on Monday with the two people currently running the VAG, Eva Respini and Sirish Rao, and said he now has 'the nicest relationship with the Vancouver Art Gallery that I have had since 2002.' And he is still collecting. 'I've acquired 342 works since Jan. 1, 2023.' jmackie@ Read More Vancouver Canucks News Vancouver Canucks News PWHL
Globe and Mail
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
Bob Rennie donates $22.8-million worth of contemporary art to National Gallery of Canada
Vancouver art collector Bob Rennie and his family have donated $22.8-million worth of contemporary art to the National Gallery of Canada, the gallery announced Monday. Rennie picked the gallery in Ottawa because he felt it has the resources to conserve and curate the art, and that a national institution was best placed to lend to regional institutions in Canada as well as making international loans. 'I looked at them as the right custodian,' Rennie said in an interview. A prominent international collector, he has given the gallery 61 works by such renowned artists as the Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei, the Palestinian-British installation artist Mona Hatoum and the American conceptual artist Dan Graham, who died in 2022. The donation also includes a career-spanning collection of 40 works by the Vancouver artist Rodney Graham, who also died in 2022 and was known for his large-scale photographic lightboxes. 'This is transformational for us,' said National Gallery director Jean-François Bélisle. 'It has been a dialogue about what do we want to add to the collection. His collection is a lot bigger than what he is donating to us right now. Not everything is on the table, but everything can be talked about: We really shaped this in terms of what would most benefit the national collection.' Bélisle added that the gift includes works that the gallery could never afford to buy and allows the gallery not only to lend to Canadian institutions but to enter into loan agreements with international institutions. For example, the U.S. National Gallery of Art in Washington is interested in borrowing one highlight of the gift: The American Library is a room-sized installation of 6,600 books wrapped in colourful African fabrics and bearing the names of notable American immigrants and Black Americans affected by the Great Migration. The piece was created by the British artist Yinka Shonibare, who explores the colonial relationships between Europe and Africa, and is known for his use of the bright Dutch-wax textiles once imported to Africa from the Netherlands. 'He could have given this collection to anyone in the world,' Bélisle said. The gallery, which already has one space named for the Rennie family, will name at least one more, as Rennie continues to discuss donating more of the collection. 'If you give to the National Gallery, you give to all galleries,' he said. 'If the National Gallery has them, the Art Gallery of Alberta doesn't need to buy them.' Rennie serves as chair of the collections committee at Washington's National Gallery of Art and previously served on committees at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Tate Modern in London. A collector with international reach, he was unlikely to make the gift to his local art museum: Rennie has been a vocal critic of the Vancouver Art Gallery's ambitious plans for a new building (now cancelled), saying it made bricks and mortar the priority instead of art. Unusually, the gift comes with no stipulation as to how or when it will be exhibited: Rennie said donors' requirements that their art be on permanent display tie a gallery's hands. 'I don't know if there is enough discussion about this,' he said, noting the pattern of donors' onerous requirements that he has witnessed in the U.S. 'You give one Monet; you want it displayed at all times. Everybody does that and you have no museum.' However, the gift does come with the expectation the National Gallery has the resources to lend the work. Rennie, who also gave about $12-million worth of art to the gallery in 2017 and has now donated a total of 260 works, has not endowed the gift with any cash contribution but has covered the costs associated with evaluating it and shipping it to Ottawa, Bélisle said. The $22.8-million figure is the evaluation approved by the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board, the organization that can issue Rennie with a tax receipt for that amount. Rennie added that he prefers to fund on a project basis, paying for catalogues and shipping when lending his art. For example, he has lent work and funded the catalogue for a coming exhibition devoted to the Black American artist Kerry James Marshall at the Royal Academy in London. The son of a Vancouver brewery truck driver and a homemaker, Rennie first bought a work of art at age 17 when he purchased a signed Norman Rockwell reproduction and had to borrow money from a neighbour to cover the shipping. He launched a highly successful career marketing real estate in Vancouver in his 20s, eventually becoming the city's 'condo king,' and began collecting in earnest. 'At what point are you a collector? When the works are stacked against the walls,' he said. His collection includes about 4,000 works by more than 400 artists. In the 1990s he preferred works that included text; in the 2000s, he began to specialize in works that dealt with social justice and artistic appropriation. Starting in 2009, he showed some of the collection in a private museum installed in the Wing Sang, the oldest building in Vancouver's Chinatown, but closed that project in 2022 and helped the Chinese community buy the building to create the new Chinese Canadian Museum. He has collected Canadian works in depth, including by B.C. artists Ian Wallace and Brian Jungen, but said he doesn't want to marginalize their work by placing it in a narrow national context. 'It is a Canadian collection, it's just not full of Canadian art,' he said. Similarly, he does not intentionally buy female artists but has 173 of them in the collection. Aged 69, he has three adult children by his ex-wife Mieko Izumi while another former partner, Carey Fouks, continues to oversee the art collection. Rennie has promised the family he will resolve the future of the collection by the time he turns 75. His plan is to donate art up to the $50-million mark with no stipulation that the National Gallery must show it or can't sell it. 'Will I roll over in my grave if they deaccession it? No. You have to trust someone if you marry them,' he said. 'Instead of my grandchildren saying, 'That's Bob's museum,' they can say Bob did something for the country.'
Cision Canada
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Cision Canada
National Gallery of Canada receives a $22.8-million gift of iconic contemporary artworks from Bob Rennie and The Rennie Family Français
OTTAWA, ON, June 16, 2025 /CNW/ - The National Gallery of Canada (NGC) announced today a $22.8-million major gift to Canadians of 61 artworks, featuring some of the most iconic artists in contemporary art history, by noted Vancouver-based businessperson and philanthropist Bob Rennie, a Distinguished Patron of the National Gallery of Canada Foundation, and The Rennie Family. This latest donation by Mr. Rennie and family brings the total value of their gifts to the NGC to now exceed more than $35 million, comprising over 260 artworks donated since 2012. Rennie was named to ARTnews' Top 200 Collectors list of 2024. "Bob Rennie's extraordinary contribution to the nation supports our mission of making great art accessible to all Canadians, from coast to coast to coast, through partnership and collaboration," said Paul Genest, Chair of the Board, and Jean-François Bélisle, Director and CEO, of the National Gallery of Canada. "The Rennie Collection, one of the largest collections of contemporary art in the country, has evolved over the years to focus on works tackling issues of identity, social commentary and injustice. We are most grateful to Mr. Rennie for this major donation and for his trust in us to share stewardship of these works on behalf of Canadians. We also want to acknowledge the National Gallery of Canada Foundation, who works tirelessly to cultivate relationships with philanthropic partners who share our passion to bring people together, especially in these divisive times, through shared experiences through art." "I started collecting over 50 years ago when I was 17. The core of the collection has been put together by Carey Fouks and myself," said Bob Rennie. "We have always thought about custodianship, which is about making sure that artists are seen and their voices are heard beyond their life and beyond my life. This is foundational to the collection. The National Gallery of Canada shares our values and our intentions. Values of preservation, conservation and allowing the works to travel to museums and venues, which are not only across Canada but within the broad reach of relationships the Gallery has cultivated across the world. My family is very proud of this moment—a moment to protect artists' legacies with this gift to our nation." Bob Rennie was notably Chair of Tate Modern's North American Acquisitions Committee, President of Tate Americas and a member of the Executive Committee of the Tate International Council. Rennie also served as Chair of Acquisitions and Trustee at the Art Institute of Chicago. He is currently Chair of the Collectors Committee at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The donation notably comprises 40 works by Rodney Graham. With a practice spanning 50 years, Graham (1949-2022) was born in Abbotsford, British Columbia. The works by Graham span nearly four decades, ranging from major installations, lightboxes, paintings and rare early works to multiples produced over many years that enhance insights into his oeuvre. Three works by Ai Weiwei will complement the three current pieces in our collection by the celebrated Chinese contemporary artist. Coming to the Gallery is British artist Yinka Shonibare's full-room installation of 6,600 books celebrating the Americas' diverse immigrant population, which identifies over 150 Americans of notable achievements in all fields, including some who were either born in Canada or have direct Canadian descendants. The donation also includes 10 works by Mona Hatoum and pieces by Dan Graham, two artists who have strong connections with Canada. American Dan Graham had a long and close history with our country having exhibited, lectured and made some of his earliest video works in the 1970s at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and through his long friendships and creative exchanges with Vancouver-based artists such as Rodney Graham, Ian Wallace and Brian Jungen. Similarly, in the 1980s, internationally acclaimed British-Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum created a series of videos during multiple residencies at the Western Front in Vancouver and exhibited at a number of Canadian institutions through the years. Reflecting the strong social justice component of the Rennie Collection, monumentally scaled works will bring Meleko Mokgosi, Toby Ziegler, Allora and Calzadilla, Gilbert & George and art collective Tim Rollins and K.O.S. into the Gallery's collection for the first time. One of the National Gallery of Canada's core missions is to make art accessible to all Canadians, no matter where they live in the country. The addition of these works to the collection, thanks to this major gift, will enable the Gallery to make them available to Canadian and international museums, as was the wish of the donor and the Gallery's management. About the National Gallery of Canada Founded in 1880, the National Gallery of Canada is among the world's most respected art institutions. As a national museum, we exist to serve all Canadians, no matter where they live. We do this by sharing our collection, exhibitions and public programming widely. We create dynamic experiences that allow for new ways of seeing ourselves and each other through the visual arts, while centering Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Our mandate is to develop, preserve and present a collection for the learning and enjoyment of all – now and for generations to come. We are home to more than 90,000 works, including one of the finest collections of Indigenous and Canadian art, major works from the 14 th to the 21 st century and extensive library and archival holdings. About the National Gallery of Canada Foundation The National Gallery of Canada Foundation is dedicated to supporting the National Gallery of Canada in fulfilling its mandate. By fostering strong philanthropic partnerships, the Foundation provides the Gallery with the additional financial support required to lead Canada's visual arts community locally, nationally and internationally. The blend of public support and private philanthropy empowers the Gallery to preserve and interpret Canada's visual arts heritage. The Foundation welcomes present and deferred gifts for special projects and endowments. To learn more about the National Gallery of Canada Foundation, visit
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
National Gallery of Canada receives a $22.8-million gift of iconic contemporary artworks from Bob Rennie and The Rennie Family
Rennie is a Vancouver-based art collector OTTAWA, ON, June 16, 2025 /CNW/ - The National Gallery of Canada (NGC) announced today a $22.8-million major gift to Canadians of 61 artworks, featuring some of the most iconic artists in contemporary art history, by noted Vancouver-based businessperson and philanthropist Bob Rennie, a Distinguished Patron of the National Gallery of Canada Foundation, and The Rennie Family. This latest donation by Mr. Rennie and family brings the total value of their gifts to the NGC to now exceed more than $35 million, comprising over 260 artworks donated since 2012. Rennie was named to ARTnews' Top 200 Collectors list of 2024. "Bob Rennie's extraordinary contribution to the nation supports our mission of making great art accessible to all Canadians, from coast to coast to coast, through partnership and collaboration," said Paul Genest, Chair of the Board, and Jean-François Bélisle, Director and CEO, of the National Gallery of Canada. "The Rennie Collection, one of the largest collections of contemporary art in the country, has evolved over the years to focus on works tackling issues of identity, social commentary and injustice. We are most grateful to Mr. Rennie for this major donation and for his trust in us to share stewardship of these works on behalf of Canadians. We also want to acknowledge the National Gallery of Canada Foundation, who works tirelessly to cultivate relationships with philanthropic partners who share our passion to bring people together, especially in these divisive times, through shared experiences through art." "I started collecting over 50 years ago when I was 17. The core of the collection has been put together by Carey Fouks and myself," said Bob Rennie. "We have always thought about custodianship, which is about making sure that artists are seen and their voices are heard beyond their life and beyond my life. This is foundational to the collection. The National Gallery of Canada shares our values and our intentions. Values of preservation, conservation and allowing the works to travel to museums and venues, which are not only across Canada but within the broad reach of relationships the Gallery has cultivated across the world. My family is very proud of this moment—a moment to protect artists' legacies with this gift to our nation." Bob Rennie was notably Chair of Tate Modern's North American Acquisitions Committee, President of Tate Americas and a member of the Executive Committee of the Tate International Council. Rennie also served as Chair of Acquisitions and Trustee at the Art Institute of Chicago. He is currently Chair of the Collectors Committee at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The donation notably comprises 40 works by Rodney Graham. With a practice spanning 50 years, Graham (1949-2022) was born in Abbotsford, British Columbia. The works by Graham span nearly four decades, ranging from major installations, lightboxes, paintings and rare early works to multiples produced over many years that enhance insights into his oeuvre. Three works by Ai Weiwei will complement the three current pieces in our collection by the celebrated Chinese contemporary artist. Coming to the Gallery is British artist Yinka Shonibare's full-room installation of 6,600 books celebrating the Americas' diverse immigrant population, which identifies over 150 Americans of notable achievements in all fields, including some who were either born in Canada or have direct Canadian descendants. The donation also includes 10 works by Mona Hatoum and pieces by Dan Graham, two artists who have strong connections with Canada. American Dan Graham had a long and close history with our country having exhibited, lectured and made some of his earliest video works in the 1970s at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and through his long friendships and creative exchanges with Vancouver-based artists such as Rodney Graham, Ian Wallace and Brian Jungen. Similarly, in the 1980s, internationally acclaimed British-Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum created a series of videos during multiple residencies at the Western Front in Vancouver and exhibited at a number of Canadian institutions through the years. Reflecting the strong social justice component of the Rennie Collection, monumentally scaled works will bring Meleko Mokgosi, Toby Ziegler, Allora and Calzadilla, Gilbert & George and art collective Tim Rollins and K.O.S. into the Gallery's collection for the first time. One of the National Gallery of Canada's core missions is to make art accessible to all Canadians, no matter where they live in the country. The addition of these works to the collection, thanks to this major gift, will enable the Gallery to make them available to Canadian and international museums, as was the wish of the donor and the Gallery's management. About the National Gallery of Canada Founded in 1880, the National Gallery of Canada is among the world's most respected art institutions. As a national museum, we exist to serve all Canadians, no matter where they live. We do this by sharing our collection, exhibitions and public programming widely. We create dynamic experiences that allow for new ways of seeing ourselves and each other through the visual arts, while centering Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Our mandate is to develop, preserve and present a collection for the learning and enjoyment of all – now and for generations to come. We are home to more than 90,000 works, including one of the finest collections of Indigenous and Canadian art, major works from the 14th to the 21st century and extensive library and archival holdings. Ankosé – Everything is connected – Tout est relié About the National Gallery of Canada FoundationThe National Gallery of Canada Foundation is dedicated to supporting the National Gallery of Canada in fulfilling its mandate. By fostering strong philanthropic partnerships, the Foundation provides the Gallery with the additional financial support required to lead Canada's visual arts community locally, nationally and internationally. The blend of public support and private philanthropy empowers the Gallery to preserve and interpret Canada's visual arts heritage. The Foundation welcomes present and deferred gifts for special projects and endowments. To learn more about the National Gallery of Canada Foundation, visit SOURCE National Gallery of Canada View original content to download multimedia:
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rennie lays off 31 employees, cites uncertain real estate market and 'structural' change
Leading condo marketing firm Rennie has announced it is laying off a quarter of its head office staff. blaming geopolitics, economic factors and artificial intelligence. 'It was a necessary step in response to a changing market, but no less painful,' the company said in a post to the professional networking site LinkedIn. The post did not indicate what departments would experience job losses, but noted that Rennie is reducing head office staff to 92 from 123 and added a plea for anyone hiring to consider its 'thoughtful, talented contributors who helped shape our culture and our business.' Rennie, founded by condo-marketing mogul Bob Rennie, made the announcement at a time when real estate sales have declined and the development sector has seen its inventory of unsold condominiums soar. The Urban Development Institute estimates the number of completed, unsold condos will soar 60 per cent to 3,500 by the end of the year. Rennie analyst Roman Melzer, in an item published on the company's website, recounted the 'collapse in consumer confidence,' that followed the Jan. 20 inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump and the air of uncertainty that came with his trade tariffs. In April, sales fell 24 per cent in Metro Vancouver from the same month a hear ago to 2,163 transactions. The so-called benchmark price, a type of average for typical homes sold, was down 1.8 per cent to $1.2 million for all property types. However, the company, in its post, said the 'moment is part of something bigger in the industry,' referring to geo political, economic urban affordability and AI-driven factors. 'The shifts we are seeing in real estate aren't temporary, they are structural,' the post said. 'And yesterday is never coming back.' The post said Rennie is 'responding with clarity, not caution, reimagining how we work, becoming leaner and more focused and embracing the tools that will help us serve better and move faster.' In March, Rennie announced its launch of an artificial-intelligence product under the name rCatalyst, which it called an 'AI-powered sales and marketing platform,' that will learn from the company's '30 million (plus) proprietary data points,' to refine sales approaches. However, it is still too soon to estimate how disruptive AI will be to the real estate sector, especially with the extent of the downturn in development, according to Tsur Somerville, Real Estate Foundation of B.C. professor in real estate finance at the University of B.C.'s Sauder School of Business. 'On the marketing side, there might be some AI uses, but a bigger thing is nobody's pre-selling,' Somerville said. Marketing campaigns 'have completely dried up, and that is a whole bigger part of the story.' Rennie, headquartered on West 1st. Avenue in Vancouver, operates in B.C., Washington state and California with more than 300 advisers in 10 locations offering advisory services to developers, presale marketing and property sales. depenner@ 'Don't always go up': Bulk of Metro Vancouver presale condos sold in 2022 and 2023 now appraised below original price Is it time for Canada to relax restrictions on foreign buyers and investment in real estate?
