‘Hyper Real’ thoughtfully reflects race relations

Hyper Real, which showed at Concordia University’s student art gallery, VAV (Visual Arts Visuels,) until Nov. 30, showcased the work of nine black artists, juxtaposing themes like masculinity and femininity and isolation and connection, in a series of video art works, graphic prints and eerily arranged baby-doll sculptures. The exhibition functioned as a mirror, reflecting the identities and personal narratives of the artists, but also provided viewers with a space to examine their own perceptions of black identity and race relations. While the works varied in form, each deconstructed stereotypical beliefs in an exhibition that was at once introspective and expressive.

‘Wearing our Identity’ explores the cultural significance of indigenous clothing

The McCord Museum’s newest addition to their permanent collection,  Wearing our Identity. The First Peoples Collection, explores the historical, cultural, and spiritual significance of Indigenous clothing. The exhibition showcases garments and artifacts associated with clothing production, such as needles and bone scrapers, to demonstrate how clothing shapes identity, and the role of fashion as a tool for self expression within Indigenous and First Nations cultures across Canada. The exhibition also documents the effects of colonialism and the relationship between westerners and Indigenous people, as captured within their clothing.

Station 16 fuses live performance and satirical graphics

 n Station 16’s current exhibition, Near Mint, Montreal-based artists Jason Wasserman and Eric Clement showcase a range of prints, drawings, and hanging sculptures that touch on themes of nostalgia and commercialism. The show falls somewhere between browsing through Pinterest for tattoo inspiration—displayed works include floral patterns and semi-naked women painted[Read More…]

The end of the world as we know it

Vancouver native and Berlin-based artist Jeremy Shaw’s video art installation at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA), Liminals, is a dystopian exploration of the human psyche. Set several decades into the future when human extinction is imminent, the film follows the lives of eight individuals.

Posters, drugs & rock n’ roll

Professor and curator Marc H. Choko’s exhibition, Nonconforming Poster Designers, displayed at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQÀM) Center of Design, is a psychedelic trip without the kool-aid. The show explores the work of two classically trained designers, Elzo Durt and Sebastien Lepine, and their experimental techniques and kaleidoscopic visual effects. Durt and Lepine disregard traditional boundaries of line, form, and color in a series of silk screen printed posters reminiscent of a visual hybrid, somewhere between the Merry Prankster’s day-glo bus paintings, and the meticulous detailing of a 17th century woodcut engraving.

Créer pour s’Aimer offers a platform for the margins of Montreal’s artistic community

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ (MMFA) Créer pour s’Aimer is an exhibition defined by its name (Creating to Love Oneself). The exhibition displays the work of individuals in an art therapy program called Les Impatients, through which members of the Montreal community with cognitive disabilities attend workshops and create art[Read More…]

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