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Review: BNLMTL 2014 – An Archeology of the Future

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Anton Vidokle and Pelin Tan, still from Episode 2, 2014 from 2084: A Science Fiction Show, 2012–2014. Three channel video installation. Each episode: 22 mins, total duration: 66 mins. Courtesy of the artists , produced by La Biennale de Montréal for BNL MTL 2014

BNLMTL 2014
L’avenir (looking forward)
22 October 2014 – 4 January 2015
Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal
and other venues

Text by Miwa Kojima

After undergoing major transformations which involved merging with the Quebec Triennial, partnering with the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MACM) and recruiting Sylvie Fortin (former editor-in-chief of Atlanta-based art magazine Art Papers) as artistic director, the Biennale de Montreal (BNLMTL) opened its eighth edition between 22 October 2014 and 04 January 2015, under the title “L’avenir (looking forward)”. Fortin teamed up with MACM in-house curators Lesley Johnston and Mark Lancot in addition to guest curators Gregory Burke and Peggy Gale to invite over 50 individual artists and collectives from 22 different countries. Among this wider range of demography, some have critiqued the Biennale’s lack of diversity since a majority of these artists are now based in Canada, USA and Europe. Yet the numerous individual projects do confront local, national and global perspectives, to relate to current issues such as the global economy, climate change, technology, along with a myriad of other approaches to envisage the possible futures yet to come, in and out of western perspectives. M-KOS offers one last opportunity to review this Biennale for ourselves, now in its final days of exhibition.
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Newslinks

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Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2013 nominee, Cristina de Middel, Untitled, from the series The Afronauts (2011). Courtesy of the artist.

■ Canada’s prestigious Sobey Art Award has now announced its longlist for 2013, selecting five artists from each main region (West coast & Yukon, Prairies & the North, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic) which is to be reduced in the shortlist to one finalist per said region. Nominated in late June, the finalists will be showcased at the Nova Scotia Art Gallery in Halifax, opening on 13 September, to unveil the winner on 9 October with $50,000 cash prize. For now all bets are on for who will rise to top this year.

â–  Nominees for this year’s UK based annual Deutsche Börse Photography Prize were recently revealed in London: Mishka Henner, Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin, Chris Killip and Cristina De Middel will be featured together at Photographer’s Gallery in a group exhibition open until 30 June 2013, with the laureate finally named on Monday 10 June 2013.
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News: Montreal Biennale announces new curatorial team for the 8th edition in 2013

Claude Gosselin, general and artistic director of CIAC (Centre international d’art contemporarin de Mntreal) has recently announced Nicole Gingras to take charge of the Montreal Biennale (BNL MTL). In the same breath, BNL MTL has also officially introduced its new team of curators for the next edition in 2013, including, Peggy Gale, independent curator as well as Gregory Burke, formerly head of Power Plant in Toronto. Perhaps as a sign of enthusiasm, they have already confirmed the theme of 2013 as ‘L’Avenir‘ (Looking Forward).
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Interview: Montreal Biennale Artistic Director Claude Gosselin

Since founding the Centre International d’Art Contemporain, Claude Gosselin has been a commanding figure for Montreal’s art scene. Hosting events such as Les Cents Jours d’Art Contemporain, and more recently, The Montreal Biennale, he often acted as the middle-man between international and local artists, by putting them on equal platforms. M-KOS interviews Claude Gosselin, perhaps now at a decisive moment in his career.

M-KOS: Claude Gosselin thank you for granting us this interview, here we are already drawing near the end of this year’s Biennale and its exhibition period, can you share with us some of your impressions, are you happy with the results so far?

Claude Gosselin: Yes indeed reactions from the public and even the critics have been very good, in fact we have seen a 30% increase in visitor attendance from our previous edition, and also increases in attendance at our educational and cultural activities. We had different components of the Biennale this year, we had creative workshops, also a cinema program and an electronic arts program. Then for the satisfaction of the general audience we had a mixture of artists, half coming from Canada, half from abroad, also they were of many different generations. So there was an array of works responding to different audiences, and this is probably what caused the Biennale to be so well attended.
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Last Chance To See Montreal Biennale This Weekend

Ian Wallace (pictures), “Les Pages répandues” (2011), Acrylic and photolaminate on canvas, variable dimensions, Courtesy of Yvon Lambert New York, Photo Credit: the artist / David Armstrong Six (sculptures) “L’Esprit de l’escalier” (partial view), 2011, wood, steal, bronze, paint, plaster and glass, Variable dimensions, Courtesy of Parisian Laundry, Photo: Ludovic Beillard / BNL MTL 2011

The seventh edition of the Montreal Biennale concludes this week from a month-long program of exhibitions, screenings, workshops and more, themed this year by quoting Stéphane Mallarmé’s “Un coup de dé jamais n’abolira le hazard” (A throw of dice never will abolish chance), first published in a collection of poems from 1897. Historically, this “coup” went on to instigate several artistic revolutions, such as the schools of Dada, Surrealism and Futurism. Not only playing a pivotal role in the history of modern art after The Great War, chance also represents a central element in Fluxus as in the quieter revolution of Quebecois Art, like 1950’s Automatism. The Biennale’s affiliation to such movements is reiterated upon visiting the Guido Molinari Foundation, a satellite venue of the Biennale, within which hangs a series of paintings by the same artist, produced in 1951 whilst blind-folded. Artistic director Claude Gosselin, co-curator David Liss and electronic arts curator Paule Mackrous put into perspective the enduring prominence of chance in contemporary art, with a comprehensive exhibition acknowledging both national and international talents.
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La Biennale de Montréal 01–31 May 2011

BNL MTL 2011: The 7th Montréal Biennale
01 – 31 May 2011
at the former École de beaux-arts de Montréal /
La Fondation Guido Molinari /Le Cinéma du Parc
www.biennalemontreal.org
Follow BNL MTL 2011 on Twitter or Facebook

(Clockwork from top left) Karilee Fuglem “There’s a place on my back that ins’t there” (2005) courtesy of the artist and Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain; John Bock, “Nothingness under the jaw” (2011) courtesy of the artist and Regen Projects; Lois Andison “Heartbreaking 91” (2009) courtesy of the artist and Art Mür; David Armstong Six “The Law of the Excluded Middle” (2010) courtesy of the artist and Parisian Laundry; Rodney Graham “Good Hand Bad Hand” (2010) courtesy of the artist and Lisson gallery

BNL MTL 2011, the seventh edition of La Biennale de Montréal will open from Sunday 1st until Tuesday 31st May 2011. Curated by Claude Gosselin, executive and artistic Director of CIAC (Centre international d’art contemporain de Montréal) and David Liss, artistic director of MOCCA (Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art in Toronto), the theme of the biennale is “La Tentation du hazard / Elements of Chance”. It is inspired by Stéphane Mallarmé’s 1897 poem “Un coup de dés jamais n’abolira le hazard / A Throw of the Dice Will Never Abolish Chance” which pushed formal boundaries by allowing its readers to choose a starting point and reading order; each person’s experience of the poem is therefore unique—and a matter of happenstance. Since its publication, the poem inspired many works of art. According to Gosselin, “Chance touches on the very idea of freedom. To give yourself over to chance is to embrace freedom, the unknown, total openness.”

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