If you’re looking for an anti-dote to the winter blahs, check out the exhibition Goût d’éclats by Mathieu Levesque which just launched at Galerie Trois Points.

Spiderwebs of paint-drips envelope wall-mounted pine slabs, their pointed angles jutting into space. The softness and playfulness of the thick paint blobs are a sharp contrast to the hard-edged geometric supports they cover. The paint is riotous, exploding at random on the polished wooden surface, shimmering in every colour of the rainbow. Get a little closer, and you’ll find small plastic toys embedded in the thick dollops of paint, there are a few stickers, and I think I even spotted a paint-covered tooth brush. One of the artworks features a heap of white paint, squeezed on the top of a wooden slab like a cupcake icing, topped with sprinkles. Look a little to the left, and there’s another heap of brown paint, squeezed in a similar fashion, but somewhat reminiscent of a pile of dog poo (but of a very tiny dog). Who said art had to be serious?

If you’re planning to visit the Belgo for Nuit Blanche à Montréal this Saturday, make sure you drop by Galerie Trois Points to see Mathieu Levesque in action, and you’re even invited to assist in his “painting orgy”. Sounds like fun.

For a complete list of the Nuit Blanche events in the Belgo, check out this earlier post.

Galerie Trois Points
space 520
Mathieu Levesque
Goût d’éclats
February 19 – March 19, 2011
www.galerietroispoints.qc.ca

Here’s a handy round-up of all the activities happening in the Belgo this year during the Nuit Blanche à Montreal | Montreal All-Nighter event. There’s a lot of great stuff on the menu again, anything from a dance party to a painting orgy to keep you entertained. Load up on some java and come on down!

Studio 303
Space 303
POP – Welcome to Anne Thériaultâ€s POP atmosphere—an immersive nocturnal happening where five semi-interactive and fully mesmerizing capsules are looped all night long. Dance to live music and gorgeous lighting effects. Featuring Dave St-Pierre, Frédérick Gravel, Dana Michel, Anne Thériault, and Simon-Xavier Lefebvre.
10 p.m. – 3 a.m.
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Centre des arts actuels Skol
Space 314
The Unknown Artist – Working from a position of anonymity, the “embodier” will make the unknown artistâ€s presence palpable through various interventions, performances and multidisciplinary works which he or she will create while the gallery is closed. Fuzzy and imprecise photographic, videographic and textual traces and other existential clues left behind…
With artists Nathalie Quagliotto and Sophie Castonguay
8 p.m. – 3 a.m.
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Galerie Maison Kasini
Space 408
Papirmasse-a-thon – A magazine, an artwork, a social experiment whose goal is to make art affordable: Papirmasse is all this and more. Our “Papirmasse-a-thon” pushes the boundaries of our slogan “Art is Cheap! Art is for Everyone!” by producing a digital print every hour of the evening and circulating it among those in attendance.
7 p.m.- 3 a.m.
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Galerie [sas]
Space 416
Exhibitions – Space: 1 Éric Cardinal, drawings and sculptures ; Space 2: Jocelyn Philibert, photographies
7 p.m. – 1:30 a.m.
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Galerie d’art contemporain Visual Voice
Space 421
Creative Lounge – During this Nuit blanche, Visual Voice Gallery transforms itself into an “idea incubator” where artists and the general public can swap ideas, mingle, brainstorm and connect. Work out your ideas on the gallery’s walls and tables covered in chalkboard paint, participate in a Twitter Party, share your sketches on social media channels and connect with creative Montrealers.
8 p.m. – 2:30 a.m.
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Galerie PUSH
Space 425
The Freedom Fighterâ€s Manual – The Freedom Fighterâ€s Manual consists of 17 glow-in-the-dark prints by Juan Ortiz-Apuy, based on a CIA manual that was airdropped over Latin American countries during the 1980s. Sensor-operated security lights will allow the viewer to control when and where they “see” the images.
8 p.m. – 2 a.m.
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ARPRIM
Space 426
(2) 1:19:59 – ARPRIM presents the exhibition (2) 1:19:59 by Le grand cercle traumatique, based on a freeze-frame image from Andrei Tarkovskyâ€s film Stalker. As each artist employs his or her individual processes to alter the photographic image, we are offered a cross-section of todayâ€s printmaking arts: heterogeneous and subversive.
6 p.m. – 3 a.m.
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SBC Galerie d’art contemporain
Space 507
Good Gets Better – Inspired by Victorian illustration, comic books and the lectures of an eccentric art history professor, artist Daniel Barrow is a master storyteller who conjures a universe of richly odd stories using drawing, animation and performance. Barrow won the 2010 Sobey Art Award. This is his first solo exhibition in Montreal.
Noon – midnight
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Galerie Trois Points
Space 520
Crazy Painting with Mathieu Lévesque – Mathieu Lévesque invites visitors to collaborate in a “painting orgy,” through which they are encouraged to create their own artworks with his distinctive stickers and various painting “recipes.” Participants can then head home with their own works of art, created in the Lévesque style!
8 p.m. – 3 a.m.
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Diego Piccini da Todi
Space 523
Incarnation 2: The Algorithms of the Future – The phenomenon of mutation is far deeper and more complex than modern society previously suggested. We are all affected in different ways; however, some “parameters” never change, such as the precariousness of life… Diego Piccini da Todi presents an exhibition of several large graphic artworks, accompanied by raw snapshots on the theme.
7 p.m. – 2 a.m.
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Les Territoires
Space 527
Flash – Visitors can have their picture taken by artists, transforming the gallery into a gigantic photo studio for the night. Participants will take home their portrait and take part in creating a collage on the walls of the gallery. This collage will bear witness to the night, forming a sort of All Nighters’ portrait.
8 p.m. – 3 a.m.
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Engineers Without Borders
Space tba
Night Without Borders – Once upon a time, a group of farmers sat under the baobab tree. When foreigners would visit them, the farmers would invite them for tea; and of course, “one must eat!” Meet the people of Burkina Faso, the country of honest men, and experience their reality. After all, “life is hard, but everythingâ€s going to be alright”!
8 p.m. – 3 a.m.
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