Papier12: Next Week in Montreal

There is a nice article by John Pohl in the Montreal Gazette about Papier12, which will take place next week.

It has been my pleasure to get to know Emilie Grandmont-Bérubé in the past year, and as a gallerist, I concur with her philosophy:

"It’s the job of a gallery owner to find art that suits a potential buyer – even if the search leads to another establishment, says Emilie Grandmont-Bérubé, co-owner of Galerie Trois Points."

The article goes on to say:

"Next weekend the search will be considerably easier, as Papier 12 gathers 38 galleries representing more than 400 artists into one temporary structure at Bleury St. and de Maisonneuve Blvd., just off the northwest corner of Place des Festivals.

As the name suggests, Papier 12 features works on paper – usually the least expensive art you can buy. And Papier 12, which has no admission charge, is all about accessibility, added Grandmont-Bérubé, who is also treasurer of the organization behind the art fair, the Contemporary Art Galleries Association (AGAC).

Six of Toronto’s best private art galleries have booths at Papier 12."

We are happy to be one of those six galleries from Toronto! I for one would very much enjoy seeing more cross-fertilization between the Toronto and Montreal art scenes. We had a wonderful experience last year showing Alexis Lavoie and David Lafrance, and several of our artists have Montreal connections, either by birth, current or past residency, or via Concordia, McGill or UQAM.

Read more here

and visit the Papier12 website

KWTcontemporary will be showing work by the following artists:

Sean Martindale, Lauren Nurse, Dagmara Genda, Moira Clark, Daryl Vocat, Liz Parkinson, Pearl Van Geest and David Lafrance.

 Watch for more posts from Papier12 next week.

Sean Martindale, "Nature", 2011, c-print.

(Image of the temporary installation of Martindale's sculpture built of reclaimed cardboard, and briefly displayed on a garbage day last spring in a neighbourhood in Toronto's West End.)

Lavoie and Lafrance: "Nature Deficit" extended to Oct 15

We have had a wonderful response to the work of our two visiting artists from Montreal, Alexis Lavoie and David Lafrance.  Their exhibition, "Nature Deficit" has been extended until October 15, 2011. Alexis will also be bringing in two new paintings  for inclusion in our booth at the Toronto International Art Fair at the end of October.

Here is a partial walk-through of "Nature Deficit":

Alexis Lavoie stands outside the gallery, with "Découpe 1" 2011, oil on canvas, 51" x 54" 

in background.

Also in the front window: David Lafrance, "Aux Limites du décor" 2011, oil on canvas, 40 x 48.

Our virtual tour of "Nature Deficit" continues inside the gallery with David Lafrance: "Synthétieur" 2010, oil on canvas, 60" x 36".

David Lafrance: Plage Pauvre, 2010, oil on canvas, 36 x 36, Contre le Jour, 2010, oil on canvas
60 x 65,  and Fertilité 1, 10 x 12, oil on canvas.

Alexis Lavoie, "Brouillon", 2011, oil on canvas, 66 x 72 and
David Lafrance,  "Dépeupler", oil on canvas, 48 x 42

Three by Alexis Lavoie (all 2011, oil on canvas, 48 x 48):
"En Pièces 14", "En Pièces 13" and "En Pièces 10"

Brent, Lafrance, Lavoie and Wong open Sept 8, 2011

KWT contemporary presents three  exhibitions of new work featuring Kieran Brent, David Lafrance, Alexis Lavoie and Rachael Wong

Vernissage: Thursday September 8,  from 5 to 7 p.m.
September 8 to October 1, 2011

624 Richmond St. W., Toronto

   Lower Gallery
Kieran Brent: New Paintings

 Kieran Brent, "Untitled 1" 2011 (oil on canvas, 48" x 48")

This is the first solo exhibition for Kieran Brent, a gifted young artist who is a recent graduate of OCAD. Brent explains: "Contradiction is an important aspect of my work.  In my paintings I am exploring the boundaries and tensions between paint and flesh, abstraction and representation, stillness and motion, figure and ground." 
Kieran Brent is represented by KWT contemporary.

Mezzanine Gallery

Rachael Wong: "Markings"

 Rachael Wong, "Pile 2", 2011 (blown glass)

For her first solo show at KWT contemporary, Rachael Wong presents a large wall installation of glass sculpture and painting, smaller glass sculptures, and a series of digital prints on aluminum.  She holds a BFA in Glass from the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary and an MFA in Sculpture/Dimensional Studies from Alfred University in New York State.  
Rachael Wong is the 2010 winner of the RBC Glass Award.
Rachael Wong is represented by KWT contemporary. 

Upper Gallery
Alexis Lavoie and David Lafrance: "Nature Deficit"

In their first exhibition at KWT contemporary, visiting artists Alexis Lavoie and David Lafrance present a series of new "landscape" paintings which explore themes of fragmentation and human desire, in collision with the natural world. Both artists are Montreal-based.

  Alexis Lavoie, "En Pièces (14)", 2011 (oil on canvas, 48"x48")

 David Lafrance, "Dépeupler", 2010 (oil on canvas, 48"x42") 

Alexis Lavoie is the 2010 winner of the RBC Painting Award, and is a recent graduate of UQAM. He states: " In "Nature Deficit",  I create zones of uncertainty, places that seem to be both the result of fragmentation and tension between several worlds. These psychological landscapes give rise to a troubled impression of lack and disconnect. Through the traces and scattered remains of past events the nature of these ambiguous locations constantly eludes us. What remains is only a threatening atmosphere, a sense of doubt and emptiness."

David Lafrance holds a B.F.A. from Concordia University, where he was awarded the Guido Molinari Prize. He is well known and respected in the Montreal art scene, as a prolific artist, working in painting, drawing and sculpture, and also as a musician and composer. Of his work in this exhibition, he states: " Nature Deficit Disorder is a contemporary urban affliction. We lack authentic experience with nature;  "wild" nature, but also the ritual and celebrations of "deep" human nature. In this context, my paintings could be described as highly delusional and broken landscapes with the elements of nature and culture locked in a strange and struggling balance."