Jacques Bilodeau
En l'état
Exhibition in two venues:
Joyce Yahouda Gallery
Thursday to Saturday, 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Artist's residence/studio
Studio des Carrières (925 des Carrières, Montreal)
Friday and Saturday, 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Convivial reception at the Studio des Carrières
Saturday, September 10th, 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
«From August 18th to October 8th, 2016, Jacques Bilodeau will simultaneously present two exhibitions that are at once alike yet arrestingly different. At the Joyce Yahouda Gallery, the artist will display sculptural arrangements, while – harkening back to the early days of his career – opening his residence to the public, his house transformed into a massive work of art.» [...]
«Entitled En l’état, the in situ installation at the artist’s home exists in a zone that hovers between sculpture and architecture. After snaking their way through a chamber passageway, visitors find themselves drawn into and completely enveloped by a mechanical array of sharp-edged forms in myriad configurations. Arranged over two floors, this chaotic yet calculated composition obliges visitors to forge a passageway among machines deployed throughout the space and invest themselves in a variety of uncommon objects. In keeping with his previous works, Bilodeau delivers an eminently tactical and kinesthetic artistic experience, one far removed from contemplation. This is more of a physical mise en situation that obliges us to examine our connection to art. Like Kurt Schwitters and Gregor Schneider, two artists known for their oversized residential projects, Bilodeau invites us to delve into a universe that is both murky and luminous, built on the foundations of his fantasies.
His residence installation, which one might qualify as “baroque,” contrasts sharply with the “minimalist” pieces on exhibit at the Joyce Yahouda Gallery. Yet the same operative notions have driven the creation of the works presented in the two venues: accumulation and stratification. In the gallery, Bilodeau displays a layered arrangement of materials that have long defined his practice (rubber, steel). Distributed across the floor, propped on the wall and suspended from the ceiling, all of the pieces reflect the same sculptural approach – one that is sober, precise, simple and radical: here, the objects are seen in their most physical orientation.
From one venue to the next, Bilodeau’s approach is a study in opposites: the proliferation of one site gives way to the extreme stripping down of the next. Yet there is a striking harmony in these two worlds, joined as they are by the singular, unmistakable relationship between the artist and his favoured materials.»
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