Ce que l’on dissimule produit comme un son sourd
May 5 - June 9, 2018
We are thrilled to (finally!) celebrate the beginning of spring with the opening of Ce que l’on dissimule produit comme un son sourd that could translate as What we conceal produces a type of thumping noise, Elmyna Bouchard’s new solo show. From April 28 to June 9, the artist invests for the first time the entire gallery space.
With this new exhibition, Elmyna Bouchard deepens her research on the connections between weaving and the repetition of printed sign. Fascinated by the astonishing adaptation strategies deployed by humans to improve their condition, the artist wishes to offer a space for peacefulness.
If some people stay frozen in time, others bury their dreams deep under apparently tight shells. Invariably a gap remains and suggests another level, a softer and more vulnerable one. Bouchard probes materials patiently, a meditative process that gives room for the world to recover.
This recent work by Elmyna Bouchard states a clear transition in her practice as she obviously enjoys opening up to a variety of mediums. The stamping on paper pieces she has been working on for several years are here intertwined with photographs, etchings, embroidery and sculptural ensembles exploring fiber and fabric through elaborate – yet simple – compositions.
Bouchard’s technical mastery is strongly perceived in the physicality of the material she assembled. She immobilizes everyday objects as if human action had been brutally interrupted. She offers an array of smooth surfaces pierced by windows through which the slightly voyeuristic viewer discerns another reality, that of the warming fabric. Her minimalist works are made of strands of wool; without artifice, without protection, they are exposed in all their integrity and vulnerability. With this new work, Elmyna Bouchard is no longer limited to evoking the fabric, she manipulates it.
An important figure in contemporary engraving, Elmyna Bouchard is the recipient of several awards and her work has been widely recognized and exhibited abroad. In 2003, she received the prestigious Monique and Robert Parizeau Foundation Award, a prize awarded to a Quebec artist who has made a significant contribution to the field of printmaking. Bouchard has exhibited extensively in Quebec and Canada and her work has also been shown in China (Beijing), Italy (Cremona), Japan (Tokyo), Thailand (Bangkok), Australia (Brisbane) and Belgium (Liège), among others. Her works are part of several private and public collections, including that of the National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec, Loto-Quebec, Alcan, Hydro-Quebec, Cirque du Soleil, the Quebec National Library and Archives, the Bank of Montreal and the National Bank of Canada.
The artist thanks the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec for its support.