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Projet Pangée presents Although the wind

A trip into Darby Milbrath’s daydream

The paintings might remind you of a place that you have already visited in your dreams, or maybe an image you have already imagined while daydreaming, perhaps on the road or in nature.

Although the wind is held at Galerie Pangée at 1305 Pine Ave. West. The exhibition takes you into Darby Milbrath’s imaginary world, where the public can feel a sense of comfort while admiring the paintings.

Milbrath is a Toronto-based artist that has exhibited her work nationally and internationally. In Although the wind, the oil paintings evoke a sense of nostalgia. In her works, viewers can admire imaginative landscapes and perceive a few figures in some of them.

Her paintings evoke memories of her childhood, when she spent most of her time with her sisters. Some of the pieces portray the landscape of the West Coast Gulf Islands, a group of islands in British Columbia, where she was raised.

“The paintings are memories of sacred places I’ve been to or grown up near, on the island, surrounded by the sea,” said Milbrath. 

Last summer, Milbrath lived on a farm on the west coast, on a small gulf island where she had time to work on her paintings. There, Milbrath was able to remember the times she spent on the island with her sisters. The smell of the fields and the images of the landscapes are part of her souvenirs.

At the exhibition, the works are displayed in three rooms; the big canvases are mostly together in one room, and the small and medium paintings are exhibited together in the next rooms of the gallery.

In the main room, an extraordinary painting can be noticed on the back wall: Starry Sky Over the Archipelago. It depicts a starry night with the moon shining in a dark blue sky. One could have the impression that the painting is moving. This sense of movement in her work is rooted to her background as a professional contemporary dancer. The artwork seems to project the tranquility of the night through various shades of blue. It is very dreamy.

Canvases such as Still Life with Apples and Still Life with Melons were painted with warm colors and contrasted by a dark blue background, emphasizing the fruits. The paintings depict inspiration that she takes from nature.

The Path is displayed between two long windows, which gives viewers the impression that there are three windows showing a mountain. At the bottom left of the canvas, there seems to be two women talking, surrounded by nature. Trees line a long path that looks enlightened by the light of the day. The road seems to lead the way to an unknown place, giving a sense of mystery and magic.

“This is where the magic emanates from and where I long to be, where I imagine I am if I’m not,” said Milbrath. 

Although the wind is in reference to Izumi Shikibu’s poem “Although the wind…” from The Ink Dark Moon, translated by Jane Hirshfield and Mariko Aratani.  The poem was recited to Milbrath by an old woman who owned the farm. The poem resonated well with her works in which she explores the concept of hope in darkness.

“She recited the poem to me about the moonlight and the ruined house and I thought about the barn,” said Milbrath. “How the wind howled through. How dying animals would find their way between the crooked planks to die in shelter.”

Although the wind is open to the public each week from Wednesday to Saturday until Oct. 31 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. or by appointment at 1305 Pine Ave. West. The exhibition is also available for viewing online.

 

Photos by Kit Mergaert.

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The home, the settlers, and the uninvited

Ozone Gleaners explores notions of the “alien” through saturated hues and contrasting textures

Gallery spaces can often feel empty. Stark white walls and neon lights do not make for an inviting space, leaving the artists’ work to liven the space and instate a narrative. On display at Projet Pangée in downtown Montreal, Ozone Gleaners instantly captures the viewer’s attention, compelling them to engage with the work.

The exhibition unifies the works of artists Tiziana La Melia and geetha thurairajah, as a way of exploring representations of history, settling, and the notion of the unwelcome. The space fully embodies its namesake. Ozone is a colourless gas formed from ultraviolet light, while gleaners refers to someone who gathers or harvests. These ideas are further depicted in the narratives of the works and the ways in which they are portrayed.

Saturated in deep purples, blues, and pinks, the eye is instantly drawn to La Melia’s work. The Vancouver-based artist plays with texture and materiality to demonstrate the  polar differences between depictions of simple, or rural life, and notions of abstraction. She alters reality by removing spatial qualities from the work; characters can be found in settings that do not correspond to their garments and certain attributes, such as the size of homes and trees, are not rendered rationally.

In her 2020 work, Visitors, an illustration of a harvest scene is depicted in rich yellows and greens, contrasting with the pale silk canvas on which it is dyed. The artist makes a statement about notions of the unwelcome, through a fantastical approach, by depicting a fable-like narrative. She merges contrasting fantasy-like aspects, seen here as harvesters are standing against the delicate background. The figures wear lingerie-style garments, and seemingly do not belong. The idea of the “alien” lingers in the viewers mind, as they are left thinking about notions of settling and belonging, and can be left to consider the place of the figures in their underwear against a farm-like setting.

Brooklyn-based artist geetha thurairajah uses color and wide brushstrokes to play with the perception of surface and space in her expressive paintings. Her work considers language and histories, exploring these themes in an effort to examine who is left or removed from certain places and settings.

Her 2019 painting, Convergence, features a sketched figural silhouette against an ultraviolet background. Here, she plays with the idea of alienation and demonstrates this via wide brushstrokes to create an indiscernible plane. This makes the setting abstract and unrecognizable to the viewer, leaving them questioning their relationship to the work.

Together, La Melia and thurairajah’s works consider origin stories, and create a space where one is left to contemplate perceptions of space, who gets to belong in certain settings, and ultimately, who gets to write these histories.

Ozone Gleaners is on display at Projet Pangée, at 372 Ste-Catherine St. W, suite 412, until February 15, 2020. The gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday from 12 to 5 p.m.

 

Photos by Laurence B.D.

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Creating a new world from found objects

Margot Klingender turns archived material into ethereal sculptures

It is not often that one walks into an art space and experiences a collective feeling as a result of a multiplicity of artworks. Staring at a single work may allow you to feel a certain sentiment, however it is rare for an entire exhibition to leave you feeling like you’ve entered a whole new world.

Montreal-based artist and Concordia graduate student Margot Klingender’s The Key to the Fields accomplishes this feat. 

On view at Projet Pangée, situated in downtown Montreal, the series exhibits the use of symbols, line work, and contrasting textures to explore multiple dualities. A polychromatic sculpture garden fills the room. The pieces, cast in tones of blue, silver, and bronze, and scattered at various heights throughout the gallery, are ethereal.

The space, as a whole, feels very much like stepping into a fantastical children’s novel, wherein the plot takes place in a secret garden.

Klingender, who is currently completing her MFA in Painting and Drawing at Concordia, uses the internet as a starting point for her works. The artist uses found images－collected through archived databases and online forums－and draws repeatedly, both by hand and digitally, to recontextualize the objects.

Composed of contrasting elements－such as opulent colourways and gritty textures, and bronze metal and leather－it uncovers a mysterious side of ubiquitous objects found within the everyday world.

While the objects may have been recognizable and held a particular meaning to the viewer in their original state, once recontextualized, they hold the space to create an individualized personal narrative; creating room for a relationship to form between the art and the observer.

The sculptures’ childlike naïveté, in contrast with the luxurious metallic hues, make for an enchanting encounter. Small tree-like objects in various hues of blue sit on the ground, while other larger objects in tones of white and silver hang from the walls. Bronze-toned sculptures of what appear to be mythological creatures, symbols, and hieroglyphs are scattered throughout the room.

At the furthest end of the space, a large window-shaped piece takes up much of the wall. While windows generally create a boundary between what is inside and what is outside, they also function as a place for the gaze and perception. Much like René Magritte’s 1936 work by the same name as the exhibition, the window piece feels like a portal. By simply looking through, the boundary is crossed, and the observer has the power to see what exists outside of themselves.

While each individual object is a work of art in and of itself, as a group the works allow the viewer to enter a surreal experience. The pieces’ autonomy, in contrast with their collectivity, leave the observer reflecting on these dualities and their omnipresence in everyday life.

The Key to the Fields is on display at Projet Pangee, at 372 Ste-Catherine St. W., Suite 412, until Oct. 19. The gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday, from 12 to 5 p.m.

 

Photos by Cecilia Piga.

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