Tag: exhibition

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Happening in and around the White Cube this week…

Happening in and around the White Cube this week…

Drama Hive: Miniature Worlds Edition

Similar to the Art Hive, Concordia’s Drama Hive provides a safe and fun space to create! Through drama practices, participants can get creative, experiment with materials, interact with others, and relieve stress. For this edition of the Drama Hive, the focus will be on miniature worlds—participants can create their own miniature environment, evoking their imagination, and translating this into physical, material form.

Drama Hive will be taking place on Jan. 29, at Concordia’s Art Hive (EV 5.777), from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free.

 

Interlacing: Fibres Student Association Lacemaking Event

Concordia’s Fibres Student Association is hosting a day long event, centered around lace-related activities. The day will include a workshop, a talk and a lunch. The lunch will allow participants to interact and mingle with one another, the guest speaker and workshop facilitator. The workshop, led by MFA fibres student Etta Sandry, will look at bobbin lace, which will be followed by a talk by artist Veronika Irvine. The talk will focus on digital lace making, based on Irvine’s practice in creating lace patterns, through the use of bobbin lace techniques and computer algorithms.

Interlacing will take place on Jan. 30, from 12:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., in various locations in the EV and VA buildings. Admission is $15—contact the Fibres Student Association at fsa.concordia@gmail.com if you want to attend, but can’t afford the fee!

 

Moving Gender: The case for home museums in Israel and Germany

How do home museums, specifically in Israel and Germany, incorporate gender into their art, and how are they influenced by it? In a presentation by Dr. Vered Vinitzky-Seroussi, this question is considered, based on research in nine home museums in the two countries, over the span of three years. Dr. Vinitzky-Seroussi is a sociologist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who studies collective memory and commemoration. In this presentation, she considers the nuances of the private and public spheres in connection to home museums, and how gender plays into this relationship.

The presentation will be held on Feb. 1, from 12 p.m. to 1.pm., at LB 671. Admission is free.

 

Interested in visiting some of the galleries around Montreal, and learning about their art, in depth? Gallery Day Montreal is providing a day of free art focused talks around the city, given by Canadian Art Magazine’s editors and contributors. Each talk is approximately thirty minutes long and each gallery visit is about an hour. Participants can make their own itineraries, and drop-ins are welcome. At the end of the day, there will be a launch for the Winter 2019 issue of Canadian Art Magazine, which is also open to the public.

Gallery Day Montreal will take place on Feb. 2, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., and will occur at various art gallery locations around the city. It will conclude with the Canadian Art launch party at Parisian Laundry (3550 Sainte-Antoine St.), from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. More information can be found in the Facebook event.

Graphic by Ana Bilokin.

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Transcending the realms of reality

Corrupted Portal reshapes interdisciplinary points of view

Navigating the conceptual realms of reality and the otherworldly, the VAV Gallery’s current exhibition, Corrupted Portal, explores the spaces and complexities between the everyday and the mystical, the exhibition features a diverse mix of interdisciplinary works, ranging from painting to sculpture and performance art. Within each work, there is a distinctive style and form in how each artist interprets the exhibition’s theme. Each one creates a complex, diverse space for exploration and, by extension, new ideas are brought forth.

When first entering the gallery, the viewer’s eyes go directly to the collection of large paintings and prints on the walls. There is a visual theme in Corrupted Portal of bright, unnatural neon colours, which contributes to the overall concepts of the untraditional and the spaces between reality and the surreal. Sculptures showcased in the exhibition also use materials that explore the untraditional, and question otherworldly realms through their forms.

Juliana Delgado’s olfactory sculpture references recent events in Brazil, where a fire at the National Museum destroyed many invaluable items and works. The sculpture uses a mixture of scents to recreate the smell of the fire and the burning of these special artifacts and artworks.Taking a conceptual approach and including various sensory components, the reference of the very real fire is considered in a new, conceptual form.

Through the works, it is apparent how each artist personally interpreted the connections between the everyday and the otherworldly, and how that translates into their art. Themes and focuses explored by the respective artists include witchcraft, technology, institutions and structure in conjunction with the sublime. Themes of nature and the environment are also prominent in the varied artworks. The exhibition creates a space for viewers to explore all of these different realms and ideas, developing diverse and complex understandings of the relationship between reality and the mystical.

Zachary Potvin William’s painting, Crack of Dawn, uses bright, eye-catching colours, fluid forms and detailing. According to the artist’s statement, Williams is inspired by mythical aspects of botany and nature. As the statement shares, although Crack of Dawn explores “the subject of obscenity and perversity in a humoristic manner, formally it is a search for radiant light.”

https://youtu.be/dj4_c-FdwVo

IV Phases of the Salt Moon (I – IV) by Xan Shian is a quadriptych (four-piece series)made from digital collage and photo manipulation. The works focus on the moon and its phases, and create intricate textures through the digital work. As Shian explains in their artist statement, “the images query the nature of perceived reality, truthfulness in the digital epoch, and the reliability of memory.”

Corrupted Portal also includes a weaving performance by Scarlet Fountain as part of her ongoing work, Rope Project. Fountain is a Concordia theatre student exploring the boundaries between different disciplines, including performance art, visual art and theatre, which Rope Project considers through its form.

According to Fountain, the project began last year and was inspired by her volunteer work at the Concordia University Centre for Creative Reuse (CUCCR). The project considers the life cycle of materials and how communities can be represented through the waste they create and the materials they throw away. Fountain’s project also connects to concepts and allegories of diversity. By incorporating various mediums and binding them together to create a unified structure, Fountain mirrors the diversity of our communities.

Corrupted Portal will be at Concordia’s VAV Gallery until Nov. 9. Scarlet Fountain’s Rope Project weaving performances will take place every Monday from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the gallery, for the duration of the exhibition.

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Happening in and around the White Cube this week…

Happening in and around the White Cube this week…

 

Re: Reclamation and Reconciliation Through Art

In Reclamation and Reconciliation Through Art, students, artists, curators, writers and scholars come together to discuss how injustice, abuse and marginalization are portrayed in art. Saba Heravi, Adrienne R. Johnson and Soukayna Z. will lead a discussion about how their identities and art practices intersect in a “white male-centered field.”

When: Nov. 6 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: The Yellow Door, 3625 Aylmer St.
Admission is free

 

Inuit Art in International Perspective

The annual Carol Sprachman Lecture presents Dr. Heather Igloliorte, a curator, scholar and associate professor of art history at Concordia. Following the end of Among All These Tundras, exhibited at the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery in Concordia’s LB building, Igloliorte will discuss new developments in the world of Inuit art and examine past Canadian works produced within the circumpolar arctic.

When: Nov. 7 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Where: Maxwell-Cummings Auditorium, 1379-A Sherbrooke St. W.
Admission is free

 

VIBE workshop series: Inclusive Dance

Hosted by the Critical Disability Studies Working Group at Concordia, this workshop is part of the VIBE workshop series, which explores ableism and audism through accessible art practices. Inclusive Dance will feature live music and is concentrated on creative forms of contemporary solo and group dance, listening and connections with music.

When: Nov. 8 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: EV Building, Le Gym Studio C S3.215
Space is limited. RSVP at cdswg.concordia@gmail.com

 

Ensevelir

Andres Manniste is an artist and teacher at Dawson College. He is heavily inspired by the role of the internet in today’s society, especially how artists use the internet to create works of art. Ensevelir or “to cover up, as in to bury,” is a collection of Manniste’s larger body of work that captures mundane moments in contemporary life. Most of his imagery is reproduced from an old television in his studio, its pixelated quality captured in his pointillist approach to painting.

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Inner and outer worlds collide

The artistic meets the spiritual in a Concordia graduate’s first solo exhibition

After showcasing a collection of his work with FEAT Management from late August to mid September, Alex Coma took up an entire gallery for the first time in his artistic career. From Sept. 26 to 30, Coma’s first-ever solo exhibition, Inner, Outer World,was on display at Le Livart Gallery on St-Denis St.

“It’s amazing to have all the creative direction,” Coma said. “I could just arrive here with my work and create my own world. In a collective, you don’t have this control.”

Even though the responsibilities of a solo show often weighed on him—especially the stress of getting the installation and art works set up on time—none of it mattered once the show began. “At the end of the day, it really was worth it to do it all on my own, because I could curate every bit of it,” he said. “I’m really happy to have put my whole vision to life.”
Coma’s work engulfs viewers and forces them to look within themselves to understand the world.

I wanted to inspire people to dig in their inner worlds… to find out how much of what goes on inside your mind has a direct influence on your outer world, or how you experience life.”

Before deciding on the name, Inner, Outer World, Coma brainstormed several ideas. The exhibition was almost going to be named Macrocosm and Microcosm. Either way, Coma said, the names would have been a perfect fit to his theme. Inner, Outer World stems from an ancient philosophy close to the artist’s heart: the belief that the outer and inner worlds are connected, if not the same. He said he believes the same energy produced by stars and planets is present in our inner selves.

When walking among his collection, it is inevitable to witness Coma’s personal journey through spirituality and his evolution as a painter. Initially, Coma’s chosen practice was not painting, but photography. After graduating from Concordia in 2014 with a bachelor’s in fine arts, majoring in photography, he became engrossed in the art of painting. He said the medium allowed him to express his passion for quantum physics, philosophy and esoteric themes in a far better way.

“This series [is] my evolution to time, to knowledge, through also mastering the painting techniques,” Coma said. “You can clearly see the evolution from the beginning which is just me wanting to do the series, to the second [painting] which is bringing everything from the first one to consciousness, to the last one to wrap up the six other paintings into one, to wrap up and collect everything I learned through my journey in spirituality.”

Inner, Outer World starts off with a preview from Coma’s next collection, with a piece called Venus Fruit. Just under it, a deck of tarot/business cards are scattered on a high table for the audience to choose from and get a peek at their inner worlds.

Following this welcoming set-up is a collection of Coma’s photographs taken in 2014 and printed on large canvases.
“So after the tarot cards, you get the photos and get a journey through time; my evolution from photography to the paintings at the end of the corridor,” Coma described.

Venus Fruit welcomed visitors to Alex Coma’s first solo exhibition. Photo by Youmna El Halabi.

According to the artist, the series aims to present the viewer with steps leading to recovery and spiritual enlightenment. Coma believes that one must identify one’s problem in order to be more aware of it and begin walking the path of recovery. The culminating point of this journey is expressed in Coma’s last painting, exploring the spiritual depth one eventually acquires to grow out of the soil they are stuck in.

When asked if his previous collection, Wormhole, had any relation to the work presented at Le Livart, Coma nodded eagerly.“Wormhole was in the beginning of my career, my spiritual evolution,” he said. “For me, I started with the scientific world because it was accessible, and my evolution brought me to question more through spirituality. [The pieces in Wormhole and Inner, Outer World] are all linked to my personal journey as an artist, a human being.”

In parting words, Coma expressed his gratitude and how he is proud of the progress he has made as an artist. He revealed that committing full-time to his art and tackling the obstacles that follow makes his solo show that much more worth it. “It’s a big evolution for me,” he said. “This show is like the completion of a major cycle in my life.”

***
Coma is working on another solo exhibition set for January 2019.
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Reclamation and resistance at play in exhibition “Among All These Tundras”

Curated by Heather Igloliorte, Amy Prouty and Charissa von Harringa, Among All These Tundras showcases works exclusively from artists from the circumpolar arctic. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

Exploring contemporary focuses of circumpolar communities and identities

Language, land, sovereignty—how do these concepts and areas of focus play out in the regions of the circumpolar arctic? How do topics of identity and colonialism define themselves in these communities? Such is addressed and explored through the art of 12 Indigenous artists from this region in the exhibition Among All These Tundras.

Curated by Heather Igloliorte, Amy Prouty and Charissa von Harringa, Among All These Tundras showcases works exclusively by artists from the circumpolar arctic, whose respective works address and explore contemporary and historic focuses of this location, including language, colonialism and sovereignty. The variety of pieces span many mediums, including film, sculpture, photography, textile and performance, creating a diverse collection of work.

The title of the exhibition is drawn from “My Home Is In My Heart,” a poem written by Nils-Aslak Valkeapää. Valkeapää is a well-known Finnish Sami poet, known for his writing, music and eight collections of published poems. The poem is written in Sami. In it, Valkeapää addresses and connects to different realms of Indigenous life and knowledge, while highlighting aspects of decolonization. He uses language as a form of resistance, which gives greater significance to the title of the exhibition. Connected to this, in viewing the works of Among All These Tundras, it is necessary to recognize that the presence of colonialism has touched, and is prominent within, every artwork shown. Viewers can further consider these ties and the reclamation and resistance explored within the artworks.

Sami Shelters #1 – 5 (2009 – ) by artist Joar Nango consists of several hand-knitted wool sweaters of various shades, designs and patterns.
Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

Sami Shelters #1 – 5  is an ongoing project by artist Joar Nango. It consists of several hand-knitted wool sweaters of various shades, designs and patterns, hanging at different lengths near the entrance of the gallery. The designs on the sweaters depict landscapes—architecture and nature—of the region of Sápmi, the artist’s place of origin, in Norway. Nango, who also works in architecture, questions and explores Indigenous identity through his art. This is seen within Sami Shelters, which provide a visual representation of the artist’s home and his identity.

Artist Allison Akootchook Warden’s We Glow The Way We Choose To Glow (2018) is a sculptural piece consisting of 3D-printed figurines of polar bears, displayed on a glow-in-the-dark filament. The figurines are positioned in a pattern and the bright shades of pink and purple from the filament are distinctive and eye-catching. Warden is Iñupiat, from Fairbanks, Alaska, where she witnessed the impact of colonization, which has influenced her artwork. By including her identity and culture within her work, Warden also addresses ideas and issues of climate change and the current political landscape.

Tusarsauvungaa (2018) by Taqralik Partridge, is a series of five hanging elements made up of beading, fishing lures, coins and other material components. Each element is distinct—one consists of an image of a fish with beading at the bottom and coins attached to the central part of the piece. Another, using the material of a thermal emergency blanket, connects Canadian dollars through gold detailing. The artist is also a writer and spoken word performer from the community of Kuujjuaq, the largest Inuit village in Quebec.

The exhibition showcases a diverse range of artwork from a large selection of artists from  circumpolar regions. Collectively, the works explore general themes, issues and aspects unique to these areas. Yet with the diverse forms and subject matters of each respective work, further complexities, ideas and personal/specific focuses are considered.

The exhibition provides representation, along with space for discussion and consideration of circumpolar life and identity, specifically that of Indigenous peoples of this region. Perhaps solidifying this even more are the backgrounds of the curators—Igloliorte is from the region of Nunatsiavut and is a professor in Indigenous studies at Concordia, along with her curational work in various galleries across the country, while Prouty and Harringa are both art history PhD students at Concordia with specializations in Inuit art.

Addressing indigeneity and the presence of colonialism (along with the impact of climate change and politics), Among All These Tundras provides representation and resistance. It encourages greater consideration, knowledge and awareness of circumpolar communities and identity, along with the specific complexities and significance within the region.

Among All These Tundras is on display in the Leonard & Bina Ellen Gallery in Concordia’s LB building until Oct. 27. The gallery is open 12 to 6 p.m. from Tuesdays to Fridays, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

 

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Trevor Kiernander’s newest solo exhibition is unique to N.D.G.

Kiernander curates his exhibitions so no two are ever alike. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

“When a collapse opens a new direction”

Trevor Kiernander has studied art his whole life.

“I’ve always been hungry for drawing,” he said when describing his background in painting and drawing. At a young age, Kiernander’s parents picked up on his artistic talent and enrolled him in a specialized fine arts program. Since then, he has dabbled in figurative realism, photography and, now, abstraction.

Each of the artist’s solo exhibitions are specially curated to the gallery space he is showing in. In Free Fall is no different. Exhibited at the Maison de la Culture in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Kiernander’s paintings are not only hung in such a way as to be read cohesively throughout the room, but also to encourage mixed perceptions. This style is very different from the traditional, horizontal placement of paintings and drawings in art galleries.

The artwork in In Free Fall spreads across the gallery’s walls, taking up space that may be otherwise overlooked. Small panels painted in flat, primary and secondary colours—pieces Kiernander classifies as supplementary to his body of work rather than part of it—hang between larger paintings, creating a dialogue between seemingly unrelated pieces. However, all of the artist’s paintings are related to others. In fact, Kiernander often works on several pieces at the same time. He hangs the paintings side by side in his studio and works across both canvases, often juxtaposing raw canvas and linen. When he encounters a creative block, he’ll take the paintings down and work on others in the meantime.

At times, Kiernander will return to these paintings he took down to find he has finished them—he just didn’t know it yet.

Some pieces began as photographs and have since been abstracted to minimum recognition. Photographing his surroundings is essential to Kiernander’s body of work. The act of taking a photograph captures an image in the artist’s mind, that fades over time and allows him to break away from realism and introduce alien textures and colours.

The artist’s final product has travelled through time and space. Interested in the formal and material aspects of painting, Kiernander flips and rotates his canvases to achieve his desired forms and to unite lines and colours throughout a series.

His underpaintings may not take up the entire canvas, but are crucial to the mapping of the final product.

There is a duality within his paintings. The artist layers coats of oil paint in various degrees of opacity to suggest depth, often overlapping these methods to create a unique image. He is interested by the unpredictability of a watery paint, yet often finds himself painting in controlled, intuitive strokes. Nonetheless, Kiernander enjoys the lack of control he has over these elements. A watery paint will spill and bleed on raw canvas in ways paint straight from a tube would not.

The artist’s paintings are unique to each exhibition. In March, Kiernander will have completed a new batch of work prepared for another solo exhibition at the Outremont Art Gallery. In Free Fall will be at Maison de la Culture in N.D.G. until Oct. 21.

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Hidden gems just off a street corner

Find WE ARE WHERE | WHERE ARE WE on the corner of St-André and Généreux Sts. on display until Sept. 14. Photo courtesy of FEAT Management

How two art curators showcased three artists’ work in a garage

On the corner of St-André and Genereux Sts., just off the graffiti-filled Mont-Royal Ave., you will find FEAT Management’s latest art exhibit, WE ARE WHERE | WHERE ARE WE, set up in a garage.

FEAT, short for Featuring Emerging Artists Today, is a Montreal-based brother-sister artistic partnership, aiming to broaden people’s horizons and cast light on hidden artists by curating and showcasing their work.

Rafaël and Max Hart-Barnwell are both Concordia alumni. Rafaël graduated in 2012 with a bachelor’s in communications, and Max majored in photography. They have been working together since July 2017.

As Max likes to put it, FEAT combines his eye for art and Rafaël’s social skills.

“I wasn’t showing my art to a lot of people. I wasn’t being outgoing with my art. I wasn’t really applying to art galleries,” he said. “My sister was like, ‘Oh you have this beautiful studio in Little Italy, let’s convert it into a gallery and invite all of our friends and see what happens.’”

FEAT does not limit itself to the generic white-wall gallery, and prides itself on using all the nooks and crannies Montreal has to offer—be it boroughs, restaurants or, as with their latest exposition, garages.

The siblings’ relationships with artists rely on mutual understanding. Their main objective is always to showcase an artist’s work and get their names out into the world, which is something that also helped broaden the Hart-Barnwells’ own horizons.

“Once you start scratching beneath the surface” Max said, “you start to realize that there is so much hidden talent in Montreal.”

In their latest exhibition, the hidden talent is that of Concordia fine arts graduates Alex Coma and Justine Skahan, as well as Université de Montréal student Guillaume Huguet.

The exhibit is eclectic and engaging, mixing three artists’ work together rather than devoting different spaces to each of them. Small, grey and some would even say a tad rusty, the garage was deemed perfect by the curators.

“We were looking for something grungy to work with the art,” Max explained, “and the garage worked great. There’s no limitations or profiles. Any kind of environment could be a potentially good show for us.”

FEAT ‘s website described WE ARE WHERE | WHERE ARE WE as an art exhibit showcasing “constructed realities,” and human beings’ desire to identify with others and everything around them.

The Hart-Barnwells were seeking artworks that reflected liminal spaces, Skahan said, which was in line with her recent collection of work.

Justine Skahan’s paintings are interested in domestic space and the way in which people construct themselves through it.
Photo courtesy of FEAT Management

Skahan’s work is quite varied. As she is very interested in domestic spaces and suburbia, as well as the way people construct themselves through these aspects of society. Her paintings depict muted close-ups of plants and grass, among other suburban elements. Her art obviously compliments Rafaël and Max’s aim in their exhibit, touching upon constructed realities. WE ARE WHERE | WHERE ARE WE is her first Montreal show of the year.

“Group shows take pressure off of you,” she said. “Normally, the work is curated by someone else, and it could be good and bad.”

She compared the vernissage jitters at a solo exhibit to the anxiety a person might feel at their birthday party when they’re not really sure how many people will turn up. She said the pressure is relieved when it’s a group show, however, because you can count on other artists to bring in people in case your entourage doesn’t make it.

Coma is yet another artist the Hart-Barnwell duo believed fit their theme quite well after seeing his collection titled Wormhole, otherwise known as the theoretical passage through space and time.

“Wormholes are created on a daily in our everyday lives from Earth to space or another planet or anywhere you want in the universe,” Coma explained. “I want people to feel transported. My paintings are very symmetrical, so it allows the viewer to project himself into the space I drew.” Coma is a Concordia alumni as well, having majored in photography.

“My photography is the basis of all my paintings so far. I used them to make a sort of collage on my canvas” he said. “A painting of mine can be a mix of several pictures I took. The tree I painted is on a different photograph than the house that’s next to it. But the more I paint, the more I can start using my own imagination to move away from relying on my photographs.”

Coma has an upcoming solo exhibit on Sept. 26 at Le Livart Gallery on St-Denis St.

In his Wormhole series, Alex Coma paints elements from several photographs on one canvas.
Photos courtesy of FEAT Management

 

Contrary to Coma and Skahan’s more landscape-oriented, dark-coloured works, Huguet’s work is a series of colourful portraits.

Mathematics student Guillaume Huguet paints lively portraits using paint and oil pastel. Kau (left) and Anna (right).
Photo courtesy of FEAT Management

French-born Huguet does not have an artistic background, as he is currently finishing up a master’s in mathematics in the Université de Montréal. His artworks, however, do not disappoint.

He focuses mainly on the relationships between human beings and the tension that comes with it. Although not detailed and mostly relying on distinctive brushstrokes, the burst of colour is a refreshing contrast to Coma and Skahan’s dark colour palettes.

 

“I like Guillaume’s portraits,” Max said. “The use of colours, and also the rough lining, it compliments others’ detailed works. We mixed the canvases together rather than make it seem like one corner is Justine’s, the other is Guillaume and that one’s Alex’s, because each one of them could influence the other and tell a beautiful narrative.”

 

WE ARE WHERE | WHERE ARE WE will be on display until Sept. 14 on the corner of St-André and Généreux Sts.

 

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Expressing what you are and what you are not

Thomas Hamlyn's work sat on the floor in the middle of the VAV Gallery during Smelted. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

Smelted: An exploration of oneself

To cap off Smelted, VAV’s most recent student-run exhibition, some of the artists spoke about their pieces and the mediums they used to showcase their quest for identity.

The 11 students selected for this exhibition used funky materials such as terracotta, sofa cushions and even candy to express aspects of their individual identities. Using media  ranging from acrylic and oil paint to woodworking and photography, the artists explored themes related to materialism, health and sexuality.

Alicia Turgeon designed a flexible, ergonomic table and chair.
Photo by Hannah Ewen.

For Alicia Turgeon, a former industrial design student, her quest meant working on her cognitive and sensory particularities by making ergonomic furniture. After 20 tests and three prototypes, she presented Prompt 01-02, a wooden chair and coffee table with flexible features.

“To me, this piece was all about showing the process,” Turgeon said. The result is not final, but the chair embodies her idea. “I am still working on finding a way so that someone can actually sit on it.”

Isaac Smeele’s work explores breeding and consumerism. He presented Candyland, a textured, colourful portrait of a teddy bear made of candy, moss and garbage.

Isaac Smeele’s Candyland explores breeding and consumerism.
Photo by Hannah Ewen

Since Smeele selected items that decompose, he used large amounts of acrylic to exemplify and capture the hoarding of things. With the acrylic used to set the piece, he estimated it will stay intact for 10 years.

Family also played an important role in Smeele’s personal evolution. “I wanted to show something about how we tend to sugarcoat the hardest parts of ourselves,” he said. “As a father now, I realize the parts of myself that I need to work on.”

On the other hand, Meghan O’Kill-Dearden presented Things I like to Collect, an assemblage of meaningful objects she has accumulated over time. She recreated purses and bags with terracotta, glazes and epoxy. She also integrated elements that were intact such as dried flowers and fruit pits.

“I wanted to show how collecting objects can comfort me,” O’Kill-Dearden said. “[My work] questions their functionality and the enjoyment of these objects.”

Matieu Marin’s photographs explore chronic illness and the impact of medicine on his body.
Photo by Hannah Ewen.

All the pieces in the exhibition show some sort of internal reflection and questioning. Some do so with a lighter tone, and others with a darker approach, such as Matthieu Marin’s work. For him, that self-reflection happened using a self-portrait made with a digital camera. He examined his chronic illness and the impact of medicine on his body through photography. In the two pictures he presented, Marin is naked and uses motion blur (with the movement of his arm) to demonstrate the impact of medicine on his body.

“I wanted to show what it means to embody a sick body,” Marin said.

Smelted gave viewers intimate access to the artists’ personal introspection. It immersed the viewer in a world where they found themselves contemplating and questioning their ideas of identity. The exhibition successfully showcased vulnerability, uncertainty and, for some of the artists, finding purpose.

 

The VAV Gallery holds exhibitions every three weeks and will be accepting submissions for their fall programming until Sept. 14, including their special Black History Month in November exhibition. All submitting artists must be enrolled in at least one fine arts course during the 2018-19 academic year. More information can be found on their website: vavgallery.concordia.ca.

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Printing with the colours of winter

Students in a Concordia print processes class were given the opportunity to display the work they produced this term. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

Australian exchange student exhibits work as part of Concordia printmaking class

During Ali Watson’s first Canadian winter, she featured her artwork in a Montreal gallery. The 21-year-old exchange student from Australia’s Curtin University faced a starkly different reality this semester compared to the year-round heat of her hometown of Morley.

Her series, featured in Atelier Galerie A.Piroir, contextualizes her experience of being in Canada. It is a response to this new environment and the environment she sees outside.

While on exchange, Watson has lived on Concordia’s Loyola campus, where the view outside her window inspired her artwork, a series of four seven-by-seven-inch woodblock prints. “It is a study of a bush outside of my room’s window […] depicting different weather conditions at various times of day,” she said. “I look out my window everyday and see the bush.”

“I mixed my own ink for my series,” she added. “The colours I used reflect what I saw outside, particularly greys, whites and light purples.”

Watson is a printmaker in her last semester of a fine arts degree. “I was chosen in my print processes class to be featured in the annual printmaking exhibition; it focuses on woodblock printing,” she said. Along with other Concordia students, Watson had the opportunity to help set up the opening of the exhibit, which consisted of curating the works and displaying them in the space.

Ali Watson’s piece is made up of four seven-by-seven-inch woodblock prints. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

“I really didn’t think much about it before I did it,” Watson said with a laugh, reflecting on the inspiration for her project. She described her untitled series as being “about winter and the visibility that winter has on nature. I tried to focus on snow and how it changes the outside landscape.”

A theme throughout her work is the connection she feels with places even when she is not there. “It is kind of like a tactile memory that forms. I focus on structural surroundings that create a sense of memory and familiarity—the constant things that are always there,” Watson said.

Places that evoke nostalgic memories subconsciously create the meaning behind her work. “My work is always about what’s around me. In Montreal, everything I have made has been about being here.”

According to their website, the Atelier Galerie A.Piroir specializes in the creation and exhibition of printmaking. Although she was familiar with the printing process, Watson had never used woodblock prior to this experience, and the carving element was new to her. “I haven’t worked with imagery in a while, because I usually focus on installations. To actually have to design something was challenging.”

Woodblock printing is a detailed and timely process. Once the artist has carved the wood with chiseling tools, it is inked with a roller and run through a press. Every print goes through the press at least three times and holds multiple layers of ink. Printmakers carve out different sections and print on top of them to achieve intricate designs.

“My work portrays home, but not in the traditional sense,” Watson said, referring to the typical use of people to symbolize home. Instead, the colours and textures she chose reflect this theme, and she relied on icons to “reflect a sense of home and belonging.”

“I think home is a feeling that is created,” she added.

When Watson started printmaking three years ago, she did not like it. “I came to realize that it let me produce the most exciting outcomes,” she said. Since learning the process in Australia, printmaking has been Watson’s focus for the past three years.

“I was a boring painter,” she said with a sigh. “I do like sculpture though, and some of my prints become sculptural, as in they aren’t just flat on a wall. The paper itself becomes a sculpture.”

Watson said she hopes to work as a practicing artist and business owner in the future. “I want to eventually do a master’s degree in something that isn’t necessarily art. I would like to maybe do social work and then find a way to link the two,” she said.

The exhibition, which features the work of Concordia printmaking students, is on display at Atelier Galerie A.Piroir until April 7. The gallery is open from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday to Friday.

Photos by Mackenzie Lad

Categories
Arts

What’s hiding in your closet?

A screenshot captured 10 minutes into the live stream on March 29, Delgado’s ice sculpture of two dolphins has begun melting and seems to reveal something within the ice.

Alternative exhibition space live-streams Concordia students’ work

Are you tired of the traditional gallery setting? Do you just want to stay home in bed until summer arrives? Then Concordia photography student Phil Mercier and his partner, Lisa Theriault, designed the Closet Gallery just for you!

The couple—both artists originally from New Brunswick—were frustrated with the lack of exhibiting opportunities available for emerging artists and decided to create an alternative space in their own Montreal apartment. Mercier and Theriault set up the first show inside their closet in 2017. All shows in the Closet Gallery are self-produced and live streamed.

Lisa Theriault and Phil Mercier in their apartment studio. Photo by Marie-Lyne Quirion.

As is the case at most galleries, the curators of the Closet Gallery email newsletters about upcoming shows and share them on social media. When the gallery first opened, many of the featured artists were friends or acquaintances of Mercier and Theriault. Although some artists prefer to only have their exhibits streamed for a few days, the gallery began with week-long live streams running everyday from Monday to Friday.

Today, only emerging artists from Concordia’s BFA programs are invited to submit their project proposals. Mercier and Theriault recently applied for and received a Fine Arts Student Alliance (FASA) grant to fund their initiative. The grant covers materials and equipment needed for the live streams, as well as artist honorariums.

“We really strive to support artists financially, to remove barriers and respect the work that artists do,” Mercier said. The FASA grant allowed them to form a jury to select projects to be featured in the gallery. The jury includes Erandy Vergara, the art director of the Eastern Bloc gallery, and Camille Larivée from the Aboriginal Curatorial Collective.

Once selected, the artists visit the couple’s home to get a sense of the space they will be working with. They may run a test stream to see how the work looks ahead of time. Mercier insisted that the process is collaborative and that selected artists must be open to possibilities, as live-streaming can change the way a work is perceived.

“Ultimately, we want to give tools to artists to help something fun happen,” he said. The Closet Gallery recently had artist Georgia Graham perform an interpretive piece alongside her artwork in the closet. A Self in Constant Movement was streamed from March 5 to 9, with Graham’s performance on the final day. The stream can be accessed in the gallery’s archive at closetgallery.ca.

Juliana Delgado’s ice sculpture being installed in the Closet Gallery. Photo courtesy of Phil Mercier.

Three Unattending Moons, a sound and ice sculpture installation by Juliana Delgado, was streamed from March 29 to 31. The title of the piece was inspired by Two Evening Moons, a poem written by Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca. Delgado and Garcia Lorca share a love of water and the ocean. The ice sculptures, one of a bride and groom and another of two dolphins, were streamed melting under changing coloured lights over three days, with audio looped in the background. Delgado edited the audio recordings to include a mixture of readings meant to induce an autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR). These include poems by Garcia Lorca, Renata Pallottini and Carlos Drummond de Andrade, with layered sounds of crackling and water in the background.

“There are recordings of small, constrained spaces to mirror the space of the closet—people talking in elevators, sounds of a shower, muffled recordings taken inside my bag,” the artist explained. “The sounds of myself talking are echo-like, distant and eerie.”

Delgado works with themes of nostalgia, grief, longing and the passage of time. She said the Closet Gallery was the ideal space to show this installation, as she is intrigued with place-based art and “working within the constraints of the small space rather than against it.” The idea to work with ice was inspired by the time constraint of the live-streaming process. The artist embraced the Closet Gallery’s method in the creation of her sculptures, showing something that was evolving and changing.

Delgado is currently in her second year of painting and drawing at Concordia, and will be participating in the Celine Bureau residency, with a focus on audio projects, in the spring.

The Closet Gallery will be occupied with artist Alejandro Barbosa’s work from April 3 to 6. It will be live streamed on closetgallery.ca.

Categories
Arts

Reinterpreting the process of learning

Artists Emma Forgues (left) and Sam Bourgault perform in their piece, prox.Dance. Photo by Alex Hutchins

Concordia students explore pedagogy in this year’s Art Matters Festival

The term ‘pedagogy’ is defined as “the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept.” Chris Mendoza and Jamie Potvin—the curators of pedagogy, an exhibition included in this year’s Art Matters Festival—explained that they wanted to explore this method outside the world of academia. Mendoza and Potvin focused their approach on pedagogy in the art world, inquiring how and why we learn through and with art.

Both studio art students with minors in art education, the curators met while co-teaching together. According to Potvin, “art education has a really structured framework,” which they wanted to expand on. The idea of exploring the intersection of art and education evolved into the concept for an exhibition. Mendoza and Potvin agreed that the Art Matters Festival could act as a platform they could build their idea on, as well as provide access to student work at Concordia.

The exhibition’s curators, Chris Mendoza (left) and Jamie Potvin. Photo by Alex Hutchins

This year, the festival received almost 300 submissions, which each chosen curator sifted through in order to find pieces that fit with their exhibition idea. A jury approved the curators’ choices, and they were given the funds and resources needed to bring their idea to fruition. As Potvin pointed out, the festival takes place in “traditional gallery space[s],” which added another area of exploration and critique to their exhibition. The curators aimed to question how viewers learn from pieces presented in white-wall galleries, how artists learn about their practice by exhibiting in these spaces and how their experiences would differ in unconventional gallery spaces. By presenting the works in a traditional gallery, Mendoza and Potvin call attention to these questions and encourage viewers to question the way they interact with art as well. Mendoza referred to this all-encompassing exploration as “a triad of curator-artist-viewer” experiences of learning.

One of the pieces featured in pedagogy is by Concordia computation arts students Emma Forgues and Sam Bourgault. Mendoza described their piece as the “translation of intimacy into something digital.” The piece, titled prox.Dance, originated in a digital sound class. It involves a performance (done by Forgues and Bourgault), which the artists wanted to share with the art community outside of the classroom. Similar to Mendoza and Potvin, they were drawn to the festival as a way to present their idea to the public. “It helps us to see how it looks in a real context,” Bourgault said.

The performance piece revolves around the artists, who wear proximity sensors. According to Forgues, they begin by moving in the space around them, and proceed to “explore the distance” between each other, always moving in a slow, calculated manner. Bourgault explained that they wanted to “focus on these minimal movements between two bodies,” and allow the audience to do the same. The artists also used frequency modulation (FM) synthesis to incorporate sound into their movements. With every movement Forgues and Bourgault make, the sound changes and adjusts. Through the exploration of movement, the artists learn about each other and the space between and surrounding them. They will perform prox.Dance at the exhibition’s finissage on March 23, but until then, a video of their preparation process is on display at the gallery.

A still from Phil Mercier’s 2-channel video project.
Photo by Alex Hutchins

Phil Mercier, a photography transfer student from Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, was chosen to display his piece titled Action. The piece consists of two iMac computers that display old footage of the time Mercier spent at summer camps as a child. The artist, photographer and filmmaker said that as a kid, he enjoyed recording portions of his life. Recently, his parents sent him the old tapes, and Mercier decided to convert them into an art piece. He catalogued the clips by dividing them based on the actions that happen in the recordings. The actions were then pieced together to form a 2-channel video installation that Mercier said was intended to be “almost overwhelming.” It’s up to the viewer to decipher what is happening and how to make sense of it.

The artist said he is happy to participate in the festival, as he believes “it’s super important that there are opportunities for student-[artists], […] and that students are paid and valued for their work.” Art Matters has created a space for student-creators to share their knowledge and ideas while also being recognized for their work. Mendoza, Potvin, Forgues, Bourgault and Mercier all agreed that the environment of the festival encouraged collaboration and a collective respect for student work.

Mercier explained that although what is shared in a classroom has its value, practical experiences like this festival are extremely valuable to student-artists as well. He also encouraged viewers to give exhibited works the time and attention they deserve. Although it’s easy to pass by them without much thought, “when you’re in front of the piece, try to give it an extra 10 seconds and think about it a little bit more critically,” he said.

pedagogy is on display at Espace Projet (353 Villeray St.) until March 24. The gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The finissage will be held at the gallery on March 23, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Forgue and Bourgault’s performance will be included in the event. For more information about the exhibition, visit the Art Matters Festival’s website. Additional information about the artists and their work can be found on their personal websites.

Emma Forgues: www.emmaforgues.ca
Sam Bourgault: www.sambourgault.com
Phil Mercier: www.philmercier.ca

Photos by Alex Hutchins

Categories
Arts

There’s a fine line between art and trash

“Rest In Peace Phil Folderino” is an ode to manual means of storing data. Mikaela Kautzky urges viewers to think about the impact art-making has on the environment. Photo courtesy of Mikaela Kautzky.

Introducing three final artists from the first annual VAVxCUCCR residency

In celebration of the Concordia University Centre for Creative Reuse (CUCCR)’s first year of operation, the centre will host their first annual residency in collaboration with the VAV Gallery. Together, the VAV and CUCCR have selected seven undergraduate fine arts student-artists who will exhibit their work on March 22. The artists have been tasked with creating zero-waste artworks using CUCCR’s material.

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Gabrielle Mulholland is a Toronto native and began her studies in illustration at OCAD University. She left OCAD to move to Montreal in 2014, and is now in her last year of print media at Concordia. This summer, Mulholland will be opening her own printmaking studio in the Plateau. Inspired by CUCCR’s focus on creative reuse, Mulholland began to consider the original saying, “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” and how the emphasis was originally placed on reducing and recycling, not reusing.

Gabrielle Mulholland’s installation, x 11, consists of a papier-mâché screen print sculpture, a “snow pile” of found materials and an 8.5 x 11 inch tapestry. Photo courtesy of Gabrielle Mulholland.

The artist’s experience of constantly being in the city forms the basis of her current work, which aims to challenge the idea that art and design create waste. Mulholland is particularly interested in producing work from garbage found on Montreal’s snowy, frozen streets. For the residency, she has created an installation called x 11. It consists of a papier-mâché screen print sculpture, a “snow pile” of found materials and an 8.5 x 11 inch tapestry. The exact composition of her piece will be revealed at the exhibition.

The tapestry was created from material sourced at a Renaissance thrift store and hand-dyed using a salt resist. “In the imagery on the tapestry, you can slightly see the original illustration student in me who was obsessed with human communication and symbols,” the artist said.

Mulholland is thrilled to be part of the first annual VAVxCUCCR residency. She said she hopes the exhibition will inspire artists and students alike to be more involved in creative reuse.

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Laura Douglas has a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in environmental studies from McGill University, and is currently in her third year of studio arts at Concordia.

She works in a variety of mediums, including paint, textile and installation. Most, if not all, of Douglas’ work grapples with themes related to the environment. Her recent project was exhibited as part of the Art Matters Festival at Mainline Gallery’s Tender Teeth exhibit. She hand made a biodegradable quilt using organic fibres and placed seeds in the fibres that will grow upon long-term contact with soil. Her work will also be featured in Bright Lights / Blurred Vision, opening March 19 at 6 p.m. at La Récréation – Jeux de société et activités culturelles (404 Ontario St. E).

Laura Douglas built small hanging planters and larger self-watering planters out of recycled containers. Photo courtesy of Laura Douglas.

For the residency, Douglas created an installation of small hanging planters and large self-watering planters, using soil from public spaces and reused containers of varied sizes from CUCCR. She painted these containers to suit her desired aesthetic.

Douglas is particularly interested in the fact that cities are often built on the most fertile soil, yet lack large areas dedicated to gardening. As an artist and environmental activist, Douglas wants to use her work as a means of teaching others about how easy urban gardening can be. Self-watering planters can be made with two containers and mesh or burlap. The bottom of one container must be removed and replaced by the mesh or burlap, allowing water from a second container to be absorbed when needed.

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Mikaela Kautzky is currently in her second year majoring in studio art and minoring in diversity and the contemporary world. She said she believes art is a valuable personal, social and cultural tool, but it lacks consideration in how it impacts the environment. Like Mulholland, Kautzky aims to deconstruct the wasteful nature of art-making.

In addition to waste, Kautzky’s work shines a spotlight on social and environmental degradation. She strives to lead a completely zero-waste lifestyle, meaning she only consumes unpackaged food items and commits to purchasing biodegradable products. Kautzky uses art as a tool to commit to no-garbage living.

“For one whole school year, I challenged myself to do a painting of every piece of trash I threw out, and I learned a lot about the issue through this creative research,” Kautzky revealed. “Now, going forward, I try to create with the least environmental harm as possible by using reused materials and less toxic paints in my art practice.”

“Rest In Peace Phil Folderino” is an ode to manual means of storing data. Mikaela Kautzky urges viewers to think about the impact art-making has on the environment. Photo courtesy of Mikaela Kautzky.

Kautzky volunteered with CUCCR during the fall semester, and she is quite familiar with the abundance of file folders kept in the depot. Her project for the residency, “Rest In Peace Phil Folderino” is an ode to manual means of storing data and questions whether or not online storage is truly the greener alternative. “It is ultimately just out of mind, out of sight,” Kautzky said.

The artist also dabbles in photography and fashion in Less_n, a larger project that demands a dialogue on contemporary consumption. Kautzky will be selling upcycled, second-hand shirts at September Surf Cafe and Pop-Up Shop on March 24 at 4123 St-Denis St. Details will be released on Instagram @mik00k and @less_n.

The Concordian has profiled the artists-in-residence each week leading up to CUCCR’s birthday event on March 22. Past issues have featured Bianca Arroyo-Kreimes, Gabrielle Desrosiers, Roxane Fiore and Saba Heravi.

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