Thought provoking and delightful paintings by Paul Morstad on display in Squamish

“Dolphin Drag Race” — just the name of the art show is enough to pique curiosity.

Eclectic Vancouver artist Paul Morstad is behind the name and the show at the Squamish Academy of Music, which opens Saturday, Nov. 18.

Like the name of the show, Morstad’s paintings at first blush seem whimsical water colours that depict, for example, people sitting atop giant sea creatures with Earth’s neighbouring planets close by. But look closer and complex issues such as human’s relationship to the environment, industrialization and the magnificence of the oceans and its wildlife come into view. He also plays with popular culture, music and  history in his work.

“He’s making poetry out of a lot of the facts of our lives. Bringing in ideas about music history with oceanography and putting it in orbit in our galaxy,” said Jody Kramer, who is curator for the show.

The prevalence of music in his works is part of what lead Kramer to invite Morstad to SAM, she said, citing one piece in particular that is both attractive, thoughtful and educational, Johann Strauss and the Hourglass Dolphins, a water colour on archival paper. In it, Strauss is playing piano in mid air, an hourglass keeping time for him while hourglass-shaped dolphins leap from the ocean below him. The piece was inspired by the movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey, according to Kramer.

She said it is an art show that Squamish residents can relate to.

“Just a combination of these large sea mammals, which we are very attuned to here in Squamish with the idea of music and of the orbits of the planets,” she said. “He really tries to make sense of how we situate ourselves in the world, next to these giant creatures.”

Morstad is a musician as well and the opening Saturday will include a performance by his band, The Royal Coachmen. The self-described “old-time Appalachian country style band” is composed of Morstand on vocals, banjo and fiddle, Linda Parke on vocals, fiddle and guitar, Mark Vaughan on guitar and mandolin and Russel Sholberg on bass and singing saw.

Kramer said as well as the educated music and art lovers who frequent such art shows, she hopes Squamish families with kids come out to see Morstad’s work.

“It is just so fun to talk about the stories, the different narratives,” she said.

The art opening starts at 8 p.m. on Saturday at the Squamish Academy of Music, 38121 Second Ave. Admission is cash at the door. For more on the event, go to the academy’s Facebook page at Squamish Academy of Music.