Tuesday, July 8, 2008

I thought this was an interesting piece…

Black whole conference’ by Michel de Broin, 2006 (72 chairs)collection musée d’art contemporain de montréal
(photo by Peter Rosemann)

Québec triennial' nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed'

may 24 - september 7, 2008
musée d’art contemporain - montréal, canada

http://www.macm.org


The inaugural edition of the Québec triennial: ‘nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed’ is taking place at the musée d’art contemporain in montréal, Canada. the show began on may 24th and will continue until September 7th featuring 38 artists from the province of Québec, showing a total of 135 works from the past 3 years.

The ambitious nature of this show is perhaps due to the vast amount of work now emerging from the Frenchspeaking Canadian province. Josée Bélisle, Pierre Landry and mark lanctôt along with chief curator Paulette Gagnon organized the exhibition, while Lesley Johnstone acted as project coordinator. This curatorial team assembled the show in a rigorous manner in order to provide an accurate portrait of the current art scene in Québec. after an exploratory phase, the curators assembled an initial list of artists, making sure to cover the full spectrum of disciplines and generations. they then visited the artist’s studios, galleries and exhibitions in order to narrow down their choice. After this process, a list of 38 artists and collectives was finalized. the curators aimed to demonstrate the diversity and vibrancy of Québec art by choosing works that reflected ‘an openness to the present in their approach to fundamental issues’. Thematic and formal innovation were also key criteria in the curator’s final selection.

The show’s title came only when the final selection was made and the show’s overall impression was visible.The phrase is borrowed from lavoisier’s famous maxim: ‘nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything istransformed,’ which was in turn borrowed from the greek philosopher anaxagoras of clazomenae. this title is perhaps a signal to the fact that, ‘the artist often seems to perform a kind of sampling role, picking through the churning deluge of information and imagery that makes up the contemporary visual environment.’ as Sarah Milroy describes in the globe and mail. Equally possible is that the title is a statement about the future of Québec art.

While the exhibit does showcase established names, like David Altmejd and Julie Doucet, it also pays equal attention to new talent. The 135 works on show span the gamete in approach, style and media. Drawing, installation, painting, performance, photography, sculpture and video are all on show. The artists featured in the exhibition are:david altmejddavid armstrong sixnicolas baiergwenaël bélangerpatrick bernatchezvalérie blassanthony burnhamcooke-sassevillepatrick coutumichel de broinraphaëlle de grootmanon de pauwjulie doucetdoyon-rivestlouis-philippe enostéphane gilotcynthia girardromeo gongoracharles guilbert and serge murphyadad hannahisabelle hayeurbettina hoffmannjon knowlesmanon labrecqueemanuel lichalynne marshmichael merrilltricia middleton adrian norvidjonathan planteyannick pouliotjocelyn robertdavid rosscarlos and jason sanchezkaren tamchih-chien wangwwka (women with kitchen appliances)etienne zack


Black whole conference’ by Michel de Broin, 2006 (72 chairs)collection musée d’art contemporain de montréal
(photo by Peter Rosemann)


Québec triennial: 'nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed'
(photo by Richard-max Tremblay)

No comments: