Taking a stroll through galerie sas‘ Permanent Collection, I was delighted to rediscover a few of my favourite artworks. The tortured vessels of Laurent Craste are back, delicate porcelain urns cruelly nailed to the gallery walls; 2fik gives us another chance to admire his many alter-egos in his irreverent photographs which star himself in various re-incarnations; and the ironic installations of Patrick Bérubé are sure to cause a double-take. Other artists in this exhibition include Jaber Lutfi, Jean-François Gratton, IsaB, and Catherine Bolduc.

galerie sas
space 416
group exhibition
The Permanent Collection
March 18 – April 17, 2010
www.galeriesas.com

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Jean-François Bouchard travels the world seeking out people whose interests and lifestyles are out of the ordinary. He is fascinated by new forms of social interaction and how these affect people who would formerly be marginalized. His first photography exhibition, Volvere, at BlowUp Gallery in 2003, was warmly received by the media. In 2008, he presented exhibition Secret Societies, a large scale exhibition held at Fonderie Darling attended by more than 3000 people.

Galerie sas
space 416
Jean-Francois Bouchard
Still Life
February 4 – March 13, 2010
www.galeriesas.com

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For the occasion, Rodney Saint-Éloi, author and editor of Mémoire d’encrier, kindly agreed to join his voice to ours to encourage the general public to prove their generosity to this nation which history and culture often amazed the world.

We will be waiting for your at the gallery, bring your friends and family!

Lâ€!llustre Galerie
space 123
Various Artists
Benefit for Haiti
Auction March 4, 2010, 6:00p.m.
www.illustrationquebec.com

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Pierre-François Ouellette art contemporain is proud to present a solo exhibition of new work by Jérôme Fortin from February 13 – April 3, 2010. Coming off recent shows at the Pretoria Art Museum (South Africa) and Galeria Toni Tàpies (Barcelona), Fortin will unveil new engravings created during a recent residency with master printer Joan Roma (Antoni Tàpies).

The current exhibition presents us with works that Jérôme Fortin has produced in the past year. I had the privilege of speaking with the artist in his studio recently, and to have an exclusive look at Continuum – as well as the other two bodies of work also on display in this exhibition.The first production, Série noire, was part of Fortinâ€s solo exhibition ‟Discarded Beauty” presented at the Pretoria Art Museum, in South Africa. The second body of work presents a series of four prints produced during his residency at Antoni Tàpies†workshop in Barcelona, Spain. Fortin explains from the start that Continuum pays homage to Morton Feldman (1926-1987), an experimental composer and musician influenced by John Cage (1912-1992) – whose music has been, at times, characterized as minimalist. Fortin began the production of this considerable body of work on his return from South Africa.
(from gallery website)

Pierre François Ouellette Art Contemporain
space 216
Jérôme Fortin
Continuum
February 13 – April 3, 2010
www.pfoac.com

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The exhibition Jardins appears at a time when the gardens of Montreal are covered in snow, lying dormant. Perennials hibernate in the frozen soil, waiting for spring. Gardens may be spaces of functionality, as in a simple vegetable garden, or signs of luxury requiring hours of landscaping. Whatever the size, and regardless of its contents, gardens tend to be spaces designed for contemplation and reflection. Small spaces of nature within urban settings can provide a temporary respite from the outside world, and can allow us to think in a less chaotic manner. This sense of the garden as an escape, however, signals a sense of loss corresponding to the increasing control of nature by humans. A true escape is no longer possible (without a certain amount of delusion), and despite the temporary sense of rest it may provide, the garden is a bittersweet symbol of modern nostalgia.
(from gallery website)

Projex-Mtl galerie
space 212
Lawrence Beck,Damien Comment, Ulysse Comtois, Jason Hendrickson, Louise Masson
Jardins
February 17- March 20, 2010
Vernissage February 20, 2010, 3:00p.m. – 6:00p.m.
www.projex-mtl.com

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Christine Major draws us into a world in which the law of the jungle is even stronger than in her past animal universes. With Ninfa Moderna, Major focuses on the changing representation of the nymph, appearing as a Renaissance Venus or a Baroque martyr, she materializes under Manet’s brush as a low class prostitute, under Tintoretto’s as raped Lucrecia.
Christine Major’s paintings protagonists are the subjects of sequestration. The mistreated nymph lives with the memory of the nymphet that she once was. The phantom of a Lolita robbed of her childhood, and brought up in a lonely world, in spaces inhabitable except by today’s abused spouse.
(from gallery press release)

Galerie Donald Browne
space 528
Christine Major
Ninfa Moderna
February 20 – March 20, 2010
Venissage: February 20, 2010, 4:00pm
www.galeriedonaldbrowne.com

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In the last few years, Nathalie Grimard has explored themes relating to dreamlike states and vulnerability. In doing so, she questions our awareness about aging and the passage of time. She also worked with the idea of vulnerability through representations of characters presented
either falling or jumping. She was interested in visually articulating how the body is fragile in this suspended state or moment.

The most recent production of Grimard is presented in Chimères, that is featuring a series of large scale photographs presenting two
 persons wrestling, two identities engaged in a fight that implies much more that it seems at first glance. On abysmal black backgrounds, two
 white bodies stand out, muscles tight and bulging veins, proof of the harshness of the battle. Once again, Nathalie Grimard dares to go with
 self-representation, adding a new duality this time: she seems to be both aggressor and victim, winner and subdued at the same time. The many 
conscience levels clash as if the artist was taking speleologist risks of going alone in unexplored underground tunnels.

Galerie Trois Points
space 520
Nathalie Grimard
Chimeres
February 20 – March 20, 2010
Opening: Saturday, February 20, 2010, 3:00p.m.
www.galerietroispoints.qc.ca

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Polaroid Portraits
In 1974, Gabor Szilasi began producing a series of portraits on Polaroid film, a project he pursued until 2002. Rarely shown and never printed in their entirety, these images assemble close, intimist shots, mainly of women, family members, and fellow artists and photographers. For this exhibition, OPTICA has commissioned the artist for fifteen limited edition (3/3) prints, several of them as yet unpublished.

Life Must Be Alive

Jaana Kokko has developed a body of video work in which the spatial configuration shapes the totality of being. Two videos are presented in the gallery: Modern Times (Transcription) (1982/2006) and The Anarch (2008)—drawn from the series “Who am I, What am I, Why am I”—, both of which testify to a desire for interrogating the value of the document as representation of reality and as element of fiction. Speech, here, carries a story, knowledge and memory; in an examination of power relationships, the artist brings it to the screen through individual and familial interviews.

Optica
space 508
Gabor Szilasi/Jaana Kokko
January 16 – Febuary 20, 2010
www.optica.ca

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An artist is by nature a social animal

As a continuation of her artistic practice of creating situations that intervene with the viewer and pose questions that defy socially normative behavior, Andréanne Abbondanza-Bergeron proposes setting up an opportunity for exchange that can only be achieved if the viewer accepts it. This work is presented in the context of the artistâ€s master degree thesis show.

Biography
Andréanne Abbondanza-Bergeron did a Bachelor degree in Fine Arts, specializing in sculpture at Concordia University in 2007. She is presently completing her post-graduate studies in Art Education at Concordia University. Her work creates an experience through a site-specific installation, an intervention in the public space, or a performance. She deals with subjects such as social behavior, identity and relationship.
(from gallery website)

Centre des arts actuels Skol
space 314
Andréanne Abbondanza-Bergeron
Disconversation
Thursday February 18, 2010, 7:00p.m. to 8:00p.m.
One-night performance presentation
www.skol.ca

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The ZONE exhibition was previously shown at Espacio Mexico, the gallery of the Mexican Consulate in Montreal.

Visual Voice Art Gallery
space 421
Ana Lopez-Montes | Mariana Escribano | Miguel Angel Cordera
ZONE
February 11 – 25, 2010
vernissage: Saturday, Febuary 13, 2010, 3:00pm – 6:00 pm
www.visualvoicegallery.com

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