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| Molly Hatch in front of her large scale mosaic DUCERE (over 2 x 6 m) based on a drawing by Christopher Dresser. Photo © Lena Ghio, 2023 |
FRANÇAIS app de traduction à gauche
DEDICATED TO ALL WOMEN AROUND THE WORLD
Parall(elles) A History of Women in Design & Crossing Boundaries Nalini Malani at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
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| I just had to share this amazing piece by Mary Christianne Paul Morris, Rocking Cradle 1868 It is amazing! Photo © Lena Ghio, 2023 |
Stéphane Aquin, Museum Director, and Mary Daley Desmarais, Chief Curator at the Museum, have announced in February 2023 and again this week at the vernissage of Crossing Boundaries by Indian artist Nalini Malani, that the Museum would dedicate itself to the promotion of women in arts. I find this both exciting and timely.
Parall(elles) A History of Women in Design , curated by Jennifer Laurent and Mary Daley Desmarais, showcases the amazing and quiet handy work and innovative designs of women for the last two centuries. These excellent artists have done everything from posters to furniture to teapots to delicate lace, and more. I chose the dazzling ceramic installation by Molly Hatch and the stunning Rocking Cradle by Mary Christianne Paul Morris to illustrate the breath of the exhibition.
I loved DUCERE because it possesses several level of design in its composition. At first you are struck by the shimmering bleu, red and gold. Then the black and white impose their presence on your eyes. Finally, the green unites with the gold to evoke the piece that served as the inspiration for the piece, Christopher Dresser’s 1872 Minton Moon Flask.
I fell in love with the Rocking Cradle because of the materials the artist used in 1868: pine, mahogany veneer, porcupine quilt, birch bark and velvet. By reading the materials you may not imagine how elegant and well-crafted the object is and how comfortable it can be for a newborn.
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| View of the installation Can You Hear Me? by Nalini Malani at the Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Serralves, Porto, 2020. Nine-channel animation chamber. © Nalini Malani. Photo Filipe Braga |
Through her work, she recounts the most horrific events that have plagued women and children of India like the piece Can You Hear Me? that tells the true story of a an eight year old girl kidnapped, raped and murdered by a gang of men. The presentation of the 88 animations that surround you during the viewing evoke an ancient cave where people gathered around a campfire to tell their stories. You will also see an ongoing in situ WallDrawing/Erasure Performance City of Desire (1992-2023) that she accomplishes with Montreal-based artists Iuliana Irimia and Cassandra Dickie.
Find out more HERE.
To Remain in the No Longer by Joyce Joumaa at the CCA
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| From right to left: host / Joyce Joumaa, emerging curator / Giovanna Borasi CCA director/ Photo © Lena Ghio, 2023 |
Joyce Joumaa has won the CCA competition for Emerging Curators Residency Program to present a video exhibition at the octagonal gallery. She is a Montreal based artist who was born and grew up in Tripoli Lebanon. She tells how was marked by the unchangeability of the neighbourhood where she grew up and its current decadence. To illustrate her point of view, she returned to her hometown to review and film what remains of the ambitious World Exhibition project begun there in 1962. During the conference illustrated above, she told of the strange eccentricities of the government of Tripoli. For example, the citizens of Tripoli are not allowed to visit the huge well groomed park where the designs of famous Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer are crumbling. But if you are a tourist, you can buy accreditations to go visit the site. You can find out more HERE.
Dans Le Fleuve by Jobel Art for the Earth
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| The entire team of collaborators for the sumptuous Dans le fleuve multimedia installation on the morning of the presse tour. Photo © Lena Ghio, 2023 |
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| Marinella Montanari reading poetry the day of the launch. Photo © Jobel Art for Earth |
Montreal, like many world capitals is struggling to rebuild its dynamic ebullient energy. Enter Marinella Montanari! She is one of the original founding members of an inspiring organization (jobel art for earth Italy) that aims at using art to motivate humanity to collaborate on regenerating the ecology of our beautiful planet. She is the General director and Artistic director of the Montreal branch since 2019. She told us she fell in love with Montreal and decided to work here for a while.
When you listen to how she brought together the diverse groups of people: scientists, investors, corporations, dancers, illustrators, musicians and more: to actualize Dans le fleuve you realize that this is her art form. Originally she was a performer but the creation of these complex installations represents this creator better.
You will get to Dans le fleuve from inside the Bonaventure Metro heading towards the 1250 René-Lévesque Boulevard building. You will see a bleu light emanating from a doorway. It is there! As you walk in, the first thing you experience is the soft music. On the walls, projections of dancers sipping water are activated once you are in front of them. Each dancer was given a water creature to represent through dance. On the wall in front of the dancers is a wonderful painting of the life inside the river. Also on the walls, full credits and information both artistic and scientific.
This peaceful corridor will be there until August 2023.
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| Left: Isabelle de Mévius, founder and curator of 1700 la poste / Right Jannick Deslauriers Photo © Lena Ghio, 2023 |
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| Ferris Wheel / 2016 Tulle, organza and nylon thread Photo © Lena Ghio, 2023 |
As you become entranced with the ghost like appearance of What's Left you become equally amazed at the details she includes to bring it to life. On the right, Ferris Wheel illustrates what I am talking about although the work is much smaller than the tank in the basement. It also forms a link with the most ambitious works she has ever done to date: Phasmids and Escheated done in situ with a documented process.
She spoke about how these last pieces are inspired by what could happen if a ferris wheel would explode because of a fast and frenzied momentum that tore it apart. For the first time she added new materials like steel, encaustic pigments, bees wax, transparent vinyl, tulle, thread and wood ash.
The exhibition is accompanied by a wonderful catalog.
You can find out more HERE.
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