McCord 2016: ELEGANZA

ELEGANZA
ITALIAN FASHION FROM 1945 TO TODAY

May 26 - September 25, 2016

A Canadian exclusive presented the Montreal's McCord Museum, the exhibition features the Italian fashion design from 1945 to the present. The Eleganza is Organized by London’s Victoria and Albert Museum and presented by Holt Renfrew, the Montreal's high-end fashion store, the first one to import to Canada the Italian designed clothes. This exhibition shows the work of celebrated designers who changed the world of Italian fashion in the period following the Second World War to the present day.

The exhibition presents an overall portrait and history of key moments in the rise and evolution of Italian fashion, including the handmade clothing of the sarta, the neighbourhood dressmaker, luxurious Italian couture, and the highest quality ready-to-wear. It also highlights the craftsmanship, techniques, materials and skills that forged Italy’s reputation and placed it at the top end of the international fashion industry.

“We are delighted to be the only museum in Canada to present this magnificent exhibition," stated Suzanne Sauvage, President and Chief Executive Officer of the McCord Museum. "Fashion is at the heart of our interests. The McCord Museum is internationally renowned for having the largest collection of Canadian fashion and costume in the world.”

Organized chronologically, the exhibition is divided into five themed sections: The Birth of Italian Fashion, Hollywood and Celebrity, Tailoring, Made in Italy and the Cult of the Designer. The public will discover gowns and suits by Emilio Pucci, Valentino, Walter Albini, Gianni Versace, Giorgio Armani, Fendi, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Marni and pieces by emerging talents, along with shoes, bags and many other accessories, as well as photographs, magazines, drawings and film clips. The exhibition features around 130 objects, including almost 100 garments epitomizing the glamour and influence of Italian fashion from 1945 to today.

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For more information, visit the McCord Museum website.

MAC 2016: Edmund Alleyn

Edmund Alleyn

In my studio, I am many

May 19 - September 25, 2016

The Montreal Museum of Modern Art - Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC) - is presenting the work of Edmund Alleyn, a major Québec artist who influenced many artists of the next generation, and whose place in the history of Québec art deserves to be better understood and illuminated. This is the first retrospective devoted to the artist since his death in 2004. It is showcasing some sixty of his works. John Zeppetelli, Director and Chief Curator of the MAC, has stated about Alleyn’s work, “brilliant and thoughtful art that is now recognized as one of the most important passages in Québec’s aesthetic history.”

Independent and keenly interested in the events that were shaking up the world, he was as independent in his artistic practices. He refused to join any movement and never hesitated to change his style of artistic expression. “I’ve had many lives,” he would say.

This exhibition is designed to reflect Alleyn’s many-facetted, versatile, protean career, punctuated with shifts and experiments, as illustrated by the works on display: paintings, drawings, films and technology-based pieces produced from the late 1950s to the early 2000s. He also stated about his art, “It’s not novelty that interests me, it’s intensity.”

Beyond his ability to capture the spirit of his time, Allyen in reality exemplified several different times. “I am Mr. Always,” he stated about himself. The curator of the exhibition Mark Lanctôt notes, “In addition to reconnecting with historically based, monographic exhibitions, In my studio, I am many reveals how the contemporary or current aspect of an artistic practice such as Alleyn’s is not confined to its being situated in the present moment.”

The exhibition was organized by Mark Lanctôt, curator at the MAC. Iy is also accompanied by an extensively illustrated, 216-page catalogue. It contains essays by the show’s curator Mark Lanctôt, and by Gilles Lapointe, Olivier Asselin and Aude Weber-Houde, and Vincent Bonin. It also includes a chronology and a bibliography drawn up by Gilles Lapointe. The book could be purchased at the Museum's Boutique.

MAC also focuses on the importance of Edmund Alleyn with a series of public conversations about the artist and his work. The discussions will cover various topics, including the impact Alleyn had on the people around him and his influence on contemporary Québec art. Among the participants will be a filmmaker, author, photographer and the artist’s daughter Jennifer Alleyn, artists Geneviève Cadieux, Pierre Dorion, Michel Goulet, Suzanne Pasquin, Leslie Reid and Denis Rousseau, independent curator Vincent Bonin and other guests to be confirmed.

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Below is the list of five public discussions that will be held on Wednesday nights at 7 p.m., in the exhibition halls. Each public discussion will feature a duo of presenters. Access to these conversations is included in the price of the admission ticket to the MAC Museum and is free for holders of MyCARD.

Conversation 1 - May 25

Jennifer Alleyn et Leslie Reid

In French and English

  

Conversation 2 - June 8

Geneviève Cadieux et Pierre Dorion

In French

Conversation 3 - June 15

Suzanne Pasquin et Denis Rousseau

In French

Conversation 4 - August 25

Michel Goulet and an invited guest to be confirmed

In French

Conversation 5 - September 7 or September 21

Vincent Bonin and an invited guest to be confirmed

In French

For more information on this exhibition and the MAC museum, visit the museum's website.

PAC 2016: Of Horses and Men - Book

Of Horses and Men Exhibition Catalogue

The Émile Hermès Collection, Paris

The current exhibition at the Pointe-à-Callière Museum of Archaeology (PAC Museum) Of Horses and Men – The Émile Hermès Collection is accompanied by a catalogue, similarly entitle Of Horses and Men – The Émile Hermès Collection, Paris. The book was produced thanks to the generous authorization of the Hermès family, including Pierre-Alexis Dumas and Philippe Dumas, the latter of whom also provided original drawings for the publication.

This richly illustrated 128-page book features photographs of many items at the exhibition as well as documents from the Hermès Archives. It also contains previously unpublished texts, including a conversation between Philippe Dumas and Menehould du Chatelle, director of cultural heritage at Hermès International, articles by curators Jean-Paul Desroches and Nicolas Chaudun, and by Stéphane Laverrière, assistant curator at the cultural heritage department of Hermès International. The publication is available at the museum's gift shop in English and French.

The exhibition Of Horses and Men, featuring items from The Émile Hermès Collection, Paris, was produced by Pointe-à-Callière in collaboration with Hermès International. You can read more about the exhibition here.

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For more information, visit the PAC Museum's website.

To purchase the book, visit the PAC Museum's Online Gift Shop.

(The book will be available online shortly.)

PAC 2016: Of Horses and Men

Of Horses and Men
The Émile Hermès Collection

May 20 - October 16, 2016

Pointe-à-Callière Museum of Archaeology (PAC) is hosting a new, world exclusive, temporary exhibition Of Horses and Men – The Émile Hermès Collection. This exhibition takes a look at the history of men and horses through objects from the private collection of the French businessman Émile Hermès, a prominent figure from the renown fashion establishment Maison Hermès in Paris. The photo below shows the Duc carriage which became a part of the iconic Hermès logo that was created and implemented in the 1950s. The logo depicts a Duc carriage with a horse. It represents the company’s beginnings as the horse harness and saddle manufacturer.

Founded in Paris in 1837, the Hermès company was born during the era when the horse was king. It was under the leadership of Émile Hermès (1871-1951), who was the Hermès enterprise founder’s grandson, that the firm truly took off, adapting its products to the new lifestyles of an elite clientèle. As cars began to take over, replacing the horse’s transportation function in the daily life, the saddle maker who become the everyday-use-leather-goods merchant and later an avant-garde couturier, realized the urgency of preserving the threatened treasures of equestrian heritage. This is how his equestrian collection came to life.

For five months, the North American and international public will have the opportunity to explore Émile Hermès' collection. For the first time in its history, Hermès of Paris has agreed to share over 300 unique objects, which travelled to Montreal from their offices at 24 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris. This rich collection - in terms of both history and heritage - traces the history of the horse and its relationship with man. Until now, only a few privileged visitors have been able to see the collection that has been housed on a reserved floor at the prestigious Maison Hermès Parisian address.

Ever since horse came into man's life, artists have strived to express its beauty, strength, and courage, bringing famous, historical, and even mythical horses like Pegasus (the winged horse of Greek mythology) back to life. The horse also became a sign of wealth and power. It was associated with the monarchy, nobility, bourgeoisie, and prestigious racing stables. 

The Hermès collection includes an attractive and informative selection of paintings by great and lesser-known masters, as well as bronzes, engravings, and drawings. It focuses on historical and cultural aspects of horse's role in man's life. 

Below is a photo of Philippe Dumas, author, illustrator, and Émile Hermès's grandson, as he speaks about his grandfather's collection at the PAC Museum's press conference.

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For more information, visit the PAC Museum website.

SIDIM 2016

SIDIM - Salon du Design
May 5 - 7, 2016

The Montreal INTERNATIONAL DESIGN SHOW is unfolding presently at Place
Bonaventure. Iy is an annual and very special cultural event in design and creativity. It offers a new look into the design trends that will shape the homes, offices, businesses and institutions of tomorrow.

SIDIM is the major design event in Canada. It represents a huge opportunity for visitors to speak directly with the manufacturers and designers and to
get innovative and even unusual suggestions and answers to their questions.

Under the banner of Design / In Person, SIDIM 2016 pays tribute to its innovative exhibitors who passionately share their personal views, artistic and functional tastes, as well as new trends in interior design. Together, they constitute the soul of SIDIM, which is a multi-faceted source of endless creativity and the desire to succeed. In an often impersonal cyberworld, SIDIM provides the real grounds, a physical meeting place for exchange and dialogue.

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For more information about the SIDIM Salon, visit the SIDIM website.

MUTEK 17

MUTEK Edition 17

The Montreal's 17th Edition of MUTEK festival boasts more than 80 live performances from more than 100 artists, with 21 North American, 10 Canadian, and 2 World premieres. The festival is hosted at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC), Métropolis, Salle Pierre-Mercure, Phi Centre and outdoors, from Wednesday, June 1 to Sunday, June 5.

MUTEK is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the dissemination and development of digital creativity in sound, music, and audio-visual art. It’s principal activity is the annual presentation of its MUTEK festival, which has taken place in Montreal since 2000. Since its inception, the MUTEK festival has presented a considerable number of renowned artists and provided an important showcase for up-and-coming talent. A international MUTEK network has been created with ramifications in North America, South America, and Europe.

The festival will also feature free outdoors concerts at the Parterre of the Quartier des spectacles, from Thursday, June 2 to Saturday, June 4, 2016, from 5 p.m. until 11 p.m. (from 3 p.m. on Saturday).

The festival's detailed program and schedule is available on the MUTEK's website  here.