Posted on

David Altmejd “FLUX” & Jon Rafman at Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal

David Altmejd, The Flux and The Puddle (detail), 2014. Photo: James Ewing. Image courtesy Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York. © David Altmejd

David Altmejd, The Flux and The Puddle (detail), 2014. Photo: James Ewing. Image courtesy Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York. © David Altmejd

David Altmejd, The Island (detail), 2011. Photo: Farzad Owrang. Courtesy The Brant Foundation Art Study Center, Greenwich, CT

David Altmejd, Sarah Altmejd, 2003. Photo: Lance Brewer. Courtesy Andrea Rosen Gallery New York

Jon Rafman, You Are Standing in an Open Field (Waterfall), 2015

Jon Rafman, You Are Standing in an Open Field (Gale), 2015

Jon Rafman, Still Life (Betamale), 2013

Jon Rafman, Mainsqueeze, 2014.

Jon Rafman, Kool Aid Man in Second Life, 2008-2011

Friday, 11September from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. – First NOCTURNE of the fall season

thumbnail thumbnail thumbnail thumbnail thumbnail
thumbnail thumbnail thumbnail thumbnail thumbnail
right

[français]

DAVID ALTMEJD “FLUX” and JON RAFMAN

Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal

20 June – 13 September 2015
*Special opening hours:
Friday, 11 September: 5.00pm to 2.00am – First NOCTURNE of the fall season
Saturday, 12 September: 10.00am to midnight – Extended hours
Sunday, 13 September: 10.00am to midnight – Extended hours

DAVID ALTMEJD: FLUX
Flux, Altmejd’s major survey exhibition, features some thirty works produced over the last fifteen years by this Montréal-born sculptor currently based in New York. The show also includes a site-specific mural and another new work, fresh out of the artist’s New York City studio.

Altmejd creates an organic yet phantasmagorical world that combines various forces of decay and regeneration in a fantastical life cycle. In describing his work, he says “a perpetual tension must be there, between the attractive and the repellent, like the two poles necessary to maintain vital force.”
Continue reading “David Altmejd “FLUX” & Jon Rafman at Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal”

Posted on

Sophie Calle “For the Last and First Time”; Simon Starling “Metamorphology”; Allan Sekula & Noël Burch “The Forgotten Space” at Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal

Sophie Calle, The Last Image. Blind with embroidery, 2010 (detail)
Simon Starling, Autoxylopyrocycloboros, 2006
Allan Sekula & Noël Burch, The Forgotten Space, 2010

Sophie Calle, The Last Image. Blind with embroidery, 2010 (detail) One color photograph under Plexiglas cover, one color photograph with metal frame, one text with metal frame © Adagp, Paris 2014. Courtesy Galerie Perrotin, Paula Cooper Gallery

Simon Starling, Autoxylopyrocycloboros, 2006. 38 color transparencies, Götschmann medium format slide projector, and flight case 4 minutes Projected dimensions variable Courtesy the artist and The Modern Institute/Toby Webster Ltd, Glasgow

Container Ship Image from the film Allan Sekula & Noël Burch, The Forgotten Space, 2010 112 minutes Photo: Courtesy of Icarus Films

Sophie Calle, The Last Image. Blind with embroidery, 2010 (detail) thumbnailSimon Starling, Autoxylopyrocycloboros, 2006 thumbnailAllan Sekula & Noël Burch, The Forgotten Space, 2010 thumbnail
right

SOPHIE CALLE
For the Last and First Time
5 February – 10 May 2015

“I went to Istanbul. I spoke to blind people, most of whom had lost their sight suddenly. I asked them to describe the last thing they saw.”

French artist Sophie Calle , one of the most important artists of her generation, makes her debut at the MAC with For the Last and First Time. The exhibition, which reveals great artistic sensibility, consists of two recent projects: The Last Image (2010), a series of photographs accompanied by texts, and Voir la mer (2011), a series of digital films.

Continue reading “Sophie Calle “For the Last and First Time”; Simon Starling “Metamorphology”; Allan Sekula & Noël Burch “The Forgotten Space” at Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal”

Posted on

Review: BNLMTL 2014 – An Archeology of the Future

05_Vidokle-and-Tan-Episode-2-2084-a-science-fiction-show-2014_564
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.
Continue reading “Review: BNLMTL 2014 – An Archeology of the Future”

Posted on

Danger awakens the senses: An interview with Michel de Broin

MdB_MACM_June2013
Michel de Broin at his solo exhibition at Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. Anthropométrie, 2013 [wall]; Blowback, 2013. Photo: M-KOS

Montréal based artist Michel de Broin is currently showing his solo exhibition at Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. Despite his initial proposal to destroy the entire museum façade being declined, De Broin showcases an engaging selection of re-made works from the past two decades, intertwined with new commissions. Throughout his career, De Broin has questioned the visual systems that control our daily activities by transforming existing or discarded objects into things that often appear absurd, by playfully shifting and subverting our perceptions. From water bottle rockets to gigantic disco balls, his adventurous impersonations of the flawed inventor or engineer further pushes the boundary of what we consider alternative forms of art. De Broin talks to M-KOS about his work and his take on showing within high profile art institutions.

MKOS: Is it true you only had one year to plan this show ?

Michel de Broin [MdB]: Yes, it was a pretty fast turnaround. If I had needed any funding for this show [from the Canadian Art Councils], I would not have had enough time to submit for it. So this is what led me to work with existing pieces, from which I added new works that I wanted to produce. This year I already had a lot of projects underway, so it was a really busy time and when this show was proposed to me, I had the choice to accept or refuse it, opportunities like this happen maybe because there was a cancellation in the programming, and the museum people thought I would surely find a way to work it out.

MKOS: So you took the opportunity.

MdB: Yes, but the thing is, even if I had two years [to organise this show] I don’t think I would have done it better. It was good to do it quickly now because as an artist from Quebec, a solo exhibition at the Museum [of Contemporary Art of Montréal] is almost like the culminating event of your career. But this didn’t happen to me because for the past ten years I wasn’t based in Montréal, I moved around and made a bunch of projects around the world. This opportunity made me see this museum show more as a new cycle. For me it was a time to put together and assess my works, to solidify a few loose ends, produce a catalog, and then leave again.
Continue reading “Danger awakens the senses: An interview with Michel de Broin”

Posted on

Newslinks

Deutsche Borse - Cristina de Middel
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.
Continue reading “Newslinks”

Posted on

Sleepless in Montréal – Nuit Blanche & Art Souterrain 2013

AS13_visuel_bechard_hudon_564
Catherine Béchard & Sabin Hudon, La circulation des fluids, 2008/2009. Installation view. Courtesy the artists; Laroche/Joncas, Montreal; Art Souterrain

From sunset on 2nd March till dawn next morning, Montreal will host the 10th edition of Nuit Blanche, showcasing a number of art events throughout the city. For the visual arts, many museums and galleries are open all night including Laurent Grasso’s must-see “Uraniborg” exhibition at Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal; “The Image Factory” by Harun Farocki & Hito Steyerl at SBC Gallery of Contemporary Art, “Raccords” by Alain Fleischer at Galerie de l’UQAM, “ABC/MTL” at Canadian Centre for Architecture and many more.

The visual arts bonanza is highlighted by the fifth edition of Art Souterrain entitled Labyrinth, showcasing over 120 artworks and performance (including permanent public art), transforming the seven kilometer long underground city into an aesthetic maze experience. Continue reading “Sleepless in Montréal – Nuit Blanche & Art Souterrain 2013”

Posted on

Brooklyn/Montréal goes stateside


 

From October to November 2012, Montreal hosted the first installment of “Montreal/Brooklyn”, initiating an exchange in visual art events between the two titled cities, thus capturing important media and audience attention towards the art scene of the Quebecois metropolis. In an interview with M-KOS, Montreal coordinators Claudine Khelil and Yann Pocreau mention their delight at all the positive feedback received in Montreal, but remain alert for the final chapter of the project that is yet to come, over to the state side of the border. As it is now Brooklyn’s turn to host the next part of this event, indicated by the reversed title (Brooklyn/Montreal), the categorical test for Montreal artists will be about how they are received by New Yorkers, their critics as much as their art enthusiasts. Will there be any buzz?
Continue reading “Brooklyn/Montréal goes stateside”

Posted on

Montréal – Brooklyn Rendez-vous

Montreal / Brooklyn is a new contemporary art initiative organized by Montreal-based artist-run centre Clark, which aims to establish a cultural exchange between the two cities, to include the participation of 16 institutions and 40 artists. Residing on either side of the US/Canada border and separated by a physical distance of approximately 600 kilometers, coordinators Claudine Khelil and Yann Pocreau have spent two years setting up a network between the different institutions in the respective cities, before turning this rendez-vous into a reality. Pocreau comments: “The main idea of this project was to create a real encounter between two cities, two galleries and artists – it’s very much a communication-based project” *
Continue reading “Montréal – Brooklyn Rendez-vous”

Posted on

Interview: Alain Thibault, artistic director of the International Digital Arts Biennale


Alain Thibault (Right) with artist Robert Lepage at the opening of BIAN. Courtesy of BIAN 2012. Photo: Conception

Alain Thibault is the founder and artistic director of the International Digital Arts Biennale (BIAN), inaugurating its first edition in April 2012. Unlike his sister electronic music event Elektra, BIAN focuses on digital forms of contemporary art, hosted in numerous museums, art galleries, artist-run centres and other venues throughout the city of Montreal. BIAN invited artists from Germany, Japan, France, Switzerland, Austria, The Netherlands, Turkey, USA as well as Quebec and Canada, including renowned names such as Carsten Nicolai and Ryoji Ikeda. Thibault talked to M-KOS about his motivation to take digital arts to the next level, while he enjoys the taste of success of the first edition of his biennale.

M-KOS [MKOS]: As founder for the International Digital Arts Biennale (BIAN), how would you describe your motivation to do such a festival?

Alain Thibault [AT]: In fact I started out with Elektra in 1999, which is also an international festival of digital arts. The focus with Elektra was mainly about concerts and performances, but still with a mandate of blending experimental electronic music with visuals. This could be audiovisual performance, robotic performance, but there was always a central axis on experimental electronic music combined with a visual element. So that began in ’99, and gradually we evolved out of Usine C which is our main headquarters and quite an extraordinary venue for presenting this type of show. By 2005 we started adding more and more installations to the usual performance program, and these slowly spread to other venues such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Montreal and the Cinémathèque. In 2009 the installation program exceeded the allocated duration of the whole [Elektra] festival and that was when I said to myself I should make another event out of this, entirely devoted to the installation component. This is more or less how BIAN was born. And also this was about highlighting the idea that we arrived at a point in time where major artists were doing major works [in a digital format] and for me it was important to mark that moment.
Continue reading “Interview: Alain Thibault, artistic director of the International Digital Arts Biennale”

Posted on

In conversation with Althea Thauberger


Althea Thauberger, Zivildienst ≠ Kunstprojekt, 2007. Production still. Courtesy of the artist and MACM © Althea Thauberger

Vancouver based artist Althea Thauberger‘s video “Zivildienst ≠ Kunstprojekt (Social Service ≠ Art Project)” has recently been showed at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Montreal, an eighteen-minutes black and white film produced with the collaboration of eight young Germans who devoted part of their civil service to this project. Prior to Zivildienst ≠ Kunstprojekt, Thauberger has been working together with varied and often enclaved groups of people or communities such as young Canadian female singer/songwriters, U.S. military wives, Canadian tree planters and Vancouver-based reserve soldiers. Through diverse media such as performances, films, video, audio recordings and photography, and within the process of the production, Thauberger and her amateur performers co-develop and co-create the narratives through their spontaneous and imaginative self-expression. The resulting works consistently pose pointed questions about self-identification and social belonging.

M-KOS [MKOS]: “Zivildienst ≠ Kunstprojekt” was made in 2007. Have you shown this work in different places before?

Althea Thauberger [AT]: Yes. I’ve shown this work in a number of places prior to Montreal. It was first shown in Berlin where it was made and the production of the video was actually presented as a public exhibition. So the public was more or less able to come and observe the filming of the work and as well participate in the discussions that we were having, in terms of the development of the work. And then the first time the video was shown in its entirety was in Utrecht in the Netherlands in early 2007. Since then this work has been shown in New York, Vancouver, London and Guangzhou in China.

MKOS: So, is this work a result of your residency in Berlin?

AT: Yes. It’s a result of a yearlong residency. It’s the one probably many Canadians [artists] know about because it’s one many Canadians have done since it started in maybe 2004. It’s run through the Canada Council and also through Künstlerhaus Bethanien, an international residency organization and art space in Berlin.
Continue reading “In conversation with Althea Thauberger”