It’s not every day that a trip to the dentist is like a trip to an art museum, but an excellent exhibition in our region has made this possible. Regards d’artistes features an impressive selection of artworks chosen from the Canada Council Art Bank in Ottawa and installed in seven non-art venues scattered throughout the MRC Beauharnois-Salaberry.
The project, which was made possible by a partnership between the MRC and the Government of Quebec (l’Entente de développement culturel — Aide aux initiatives de partenariat), was initiated by the Cultural Development Coordinator of the MRC Beauharnois-Salaberry, Tania Perlini. Local artists responded to a call for applications, and seven were selected to act as curators for the seven locations chosen by the MRC. The works were offered to the venues free of charge.
Each artist-curator was responsible for a venue. Under the guidance of professional independent Montreal curator Dominique-Sirois-Rouleau, the artists selected the artworks and wrote the accompanying texts explaining their way of seeing the exhibition – hence the title, Regards d’artistes. “She really allowed us to better understand the profession of curator, and gave tips for this project,” says artist-participant Gabrielle Lalonde.
Beyond the skills acquired by the artist-curators, Regards is also an act of outreach between the arts and the broader community. “The idea was to give people the opportunity to have access to such a body of work without having to go to the Museum of Fine Arts in Québec or Montréal,” says Perlini. Although the MRC is an active partner in fostering and supporting the local arts scene, bringing an exhibition of work from other regions or periods had never been previously attempted. Exposing the cultural community to art and artists from elsewhere in turn feeds the imagination and creativity of local artists, Perlini further explained; “In all our projects, we want to enrich the cultural experience of the population, one action at a time.”
The exhibition is made up of contemporary Canadian artwork from 1960 onwards with an emphasis on Quebec artists, several of whom are giants of the Quebec arts scene. Regards d’artistes is an exhibition not to be missed and may be seen at the following locations until September 29.
Beauharnois, Saint-Etienne, and Saint-Louis
At the Coopérative de solidarité Beauharnois en Santé (400 boulevard de Melocheville), visual/textile artist Mylene Raiche’s Texture et bain de caramel explores the impact of texture on human emotions through the exquisite drawings of Graziella Malagoni-Levin; the warmly inviting unmade bed of Pillowscape, a painting by Ghitta Caiserman; and the hyper-detailed pencil work of Kelly Wallace, among others.
In Saint-Étienne de Beauharnois, at the Vignoble J.O. Montpetit & Fils, (396 Saint-Louis), painter Line Desrochers presents interpretations of the earth between reality and illusion, through the offset lithography of influential artist Serge Tousignant and a vibrant linocut landscape by Fernand Bergeron.
In the Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague Dental Clinic (29, rue du Pont, suite 200), Erick Cyr, a visual arts teacher at Cégep de Valleyfield, has put together works by important Quebec artists associated with Valleyfield Séminaire instructor and father of Quebec printmaking, Albert Dumouchel. Works include an energetic engraving by Jean-Paul Riopelle, and a silkscreen print of delightful, fanciful animals by Alfred Pellan.
Saint-Urbain and Sainte-Martine
In the Saint-Urbain-Premier town hall (204 Rue Principale), sculptor Réjean Laniel expertly juxtaposes austere, geometrical prints by the legendary Claude Tousignant with the warm, organic forms of wood sculptures by Catherine Burgess and George Sawchuk.
At Sainte-Mar-tine’s Le Reg-giano Restaurant (333, Rue Saint-Joseph), curator-artist Catherine Dubois feeds the eyes with two sumptuously rich paintings by Ghitta Caiserman, a playful cutout lithograph by Lucienne Cornet, and more.
Valleyfield and Saint-Stan
In Salaberry-de-Valleyfield’s Caisse Desjardins (120 Rue Alexandre), artist Gabrielle Lalonde presents visually harmonious works around the theme of the social invisibility of women by renowned artists such as Françoise Sullivan and Irene Whittome.
In Saint-Stanislas-de-Kostka’s La Marine Marchande & CO (559, Rue Hébert), cultural project manager Marie-Josée Legros combines more of the spiritual, feminine drawings of Malagoni-Levin with the abstraction of Marcel Barbeau.