There may never be a shortage of interesting art shows to check out in Montreal, but jetting from one end of the city to the other just to get a glimpse of everything sure can leave you feeling exhausted. Solution? The Belgo Building – a veritable one-stop shop for artworks and inspiration.
There, two new exhibits – one minimalist, the other, immense – by two local artists – one emerging, the other, well-established – will leave you feeling more than satisfied with your afternoon out and provide a look at the things that can only be seen when you stop looking purely on the surface.
Begin by making your way up to the third floor Galerie Division, which houses Vincent Lafrance’s photography exhibit, Cinq Photographies, for a glimpse into the mind of a young shutterbug. The show, consisting of five photos with “strong autonomy”, focuses on Lafrance’s fascination with the imprint of the unseen. In Phase résolutive, the ghost-like figure of a wolf emerges from an empty field of grass. Élevage, a seemingly abstract series of blots on a white canvas, turns out to be a collection of fluff taken from an adhesive stick, or as the artist puts it, “what we carry on ourselves all day.”
A Museum of Fine Arts security guard, Lafrance strikes gold with the deceptively simple Rayons, a snap-shot taken when several paintings were removed from a wall, leaving behind their individual, perfectly-sized rectangular spotlights. “You only see it when you take away the work,” he points out. Make a point of seeing these.
Up on the fifth floor, prepare for a decidedly larger-than-life experience in Denis Rousseau’s ne pas être. Filling up every nook and cranny of the Joyce Yahouda Gallery with vibrant, and often vibrating, sculptures, this latest showing from the celebrated multi-media artist makes it immediately clear that he’s not one to shy away from the humour of the human body. Two long crimson organs jiggle on the wall like the entrails of some absent entity … or a pair of fiery sperm preparing to shoot up towards the ceiling. Take your pick.
Rousseau describes himself as someone who likes to do work that is “joyful” and freely admits he’s “something of a seducer”. That said, his kitschy, colourful collection of photos, films and forms is likely to leave you feeling elated. The piece-de-resistance – an enormous onyx orb whose hairs shimmy and shake the closer you come – drives the point home and is sure to elicit a laugh or two.
In looking at the large black pile of what can only be likened to elephant excrement, however, you’re likely to wonder about the intent behind all of the oddness. Rousseau’s organic creations recall some of the most hidden and least glorified elements of our existence. It’s clever, confrontational and all together fun. Best of all, you won’t have to find parking all over again to see it.
Cinq Photographies can be seen at Galerie Division until October 31st; ne pas être runs at the Joyce Yahouda gallery until October 17th. The Belgo Building is located at 372 Ste-Catherine St. W.
