MMFA 2017: Jean Paul Gaultier

JEAN PAUL GAULTIER
LOVE IS LOVE

May 27 - October 9, 2017

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is presenting LOVE IS LOVE: WEDDING BLISS FOR ALL À LA JEAN PAUL GAULTIER, an original installation that brings together thirty-five of the French designer’s haute couture and prêt-à-porter bridal creations.

Produced by the MMFA in collaboration with the Maison Jean Paul Gaultier, this exhibition presents wedding gowns and suits created between 1991 and 2017 by Gaultier himself, the renown couturier. The exhibition is curated by Thierry-Maxime Loriot (picture below, on the left) under the direction of Nathalie Bondil (on the right), Director General and Chief Curator of the MMFA.

The daring lines and exquisite artistry of these outstanding creations reveal a highly original designer and the virtuosity of his ateliers.

The exhibition spotlights thirty-seven haute couture and prêt-à-porter pieces, which are imaginative, out of ordinary creations. The central piece at the exhibition is a huge three tier wedding cake installation. Each tier showcases unusual wedding apparel for a wide diversity of couples.

The middle layer has animated figurines, where the all dressed up mannequins appear to come alive, talking, opening and closing their mouths and eyes, and even smiling. They are the animated faces of well known fashion personalities projected onto the faces of mannequins sculpted to those personages' likeness. For instance, on the image just below to the left is the likeness of Jean-Paul Gaultier himself.

This exhibition will especially inspire those who are planning to marry in the newr future.

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For more information about the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts exhibitions and activities, visit the museum's website.

PAC 2017: Fort Ville-Marie Inauguration

Fort Ville-Marie Commemorative Space
Where Montreal Began 375 Years Ago

May 17, 2017 

May 19 - June 20, 2017
Free admission to PAC Museum and all its exhibitions.

The city of Montreal and Pointe-à-Callière, the Montréal's Archaeology and History Complex, had unveiled a new pavillion Fort Ville-Marie, where Montrealers are invited to follow in the footsteps of the pioneers who founded their city. It is a unique commemorative space: the site where Montreal began.

As a special gesture to all Montrealers, as well as to the founders of the city of Montreal (which was first named Ville-Marie), the unveiling of the new pavilion took place on May 17, 2017, the date of the Montreal's 375th anniversary.

The new pavilion is built atop remains of the Ford Ville-Marie where the first settlers build their protected settlement. This is the soil trod by Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve, Jeanne Mance and some forty other pioneers who arrived from France an founded Montréal in 1642.

With the showcasing of Fort Ville-Marie, the very first settlement that housed the European arrivals to the Montreal island, the public is invited to visit the site where they will learn about these handful of men and women whose courage and determination ensured the founding and perpetuation of the city of Montreal till today.

The new pavilion was inaugurated in the presence of Francine Lelièvre, the director of the Pointe-à-Callière museum, and the mayor of Montreal Denis Coderre who also cut the ribbon to the new pavilion.

The visitors will literally walk above the remains of the site where Montreal was founded, thanks to the glass floor protecting the archaeological digging site. The transparent floor reveals the framing and showcasing of the traces left by its inhabitants back when Montreal began.

A virtual model of the fort shows visitors the layout of the first Montreal settlement. A sound and light installation pays tribute to the 49 founding pioneers without whom Montreal would not have been born.

A display case presents period artefacts allowing visitors to imagine everyday life on the site, to learn about trade with the Indigenous people and to witness the pioneers’ survival strategies. In the fort space, a large audiovisual projection transports visitors outside the fort, into the natural surroundings at the time, when the forest and its creatures prevailed on the island that was destined to become the city of Montreal.

To reach the new pavilion, the visitors will walk through the just opened and inaugurated portion of the former Sewage collector canal.

At the end of the route, visitors will revisit the exact spot where in 1701 the Great Peace of Montréal treaty was signed between Governor Louis-Hector de Callière and delegates from 39 Indigenous Nations.

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For more information about the museum and its 2017 activities, visit the PAC Museum's website.

SIDIM 2017

SIDIM - Salon du Design
29th Edition

May 4 - 6, 2017

More than a trade show, the Montreal's annual Design Show offers a cultural outing to explore individuals' and various Quebec companies' active contribution to the Montreal’s design milieux, and to discover their products and ideas that make the design world exciting and inspiring.

A significant floor space is offered to works of art, as they go hand in hand with the interior and exterior design settings. This year, the artistic presence is quite remarkable.

There is also a good number of sculptural and installation works. Just below see sculptures made of old sawing machines.

 More imaginative sculptural works:

Some examples of the artistic wall coverings.

Open to the public, design lovers and consumers, the SIDIM offers the opportunity to meet the experts to discuss various future projects, to attend product launches, and get inspired by the latest interior design trends. 

Every year, this major Canadian design event is a unique chance to interact directly with suppliers and designers, where actual contacts replace virtual encounters, providing quality personal time. Over three consecutive days, visitors meet face to face with 300 firms offering hands-on solutions to all their design, decoration and space planning requirements.

Click on any image to enlarge it.
For more information, visit SIDIM website.

View all SIDIM previous posts here and also here. 

Harry Benson

HARRY BENSON – Person of interest

at Galerie Got Montréal

April 28 - May 28, 2017

Galerie Got Montréal presenting the first Quebec exhibition of the internationally renowned Scottish photographer Harry Benson CBE. The “Person of interest” exhibition and sale features more than fifty of the best-known photographs of the artist whose impressive career spans over 60 years.

Among other photographs, visitors will have an opportunity to view a selection of shots of The Beatles taken during their Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, New York City and Miami tours between 1964 and 1966.

To highlight Benson’s first exhibition in Montréal, Galerie Got Montréal will also showcase a photograph of French President Charles de Gaulle, taken during the memorable speech he delivered from the balcony of Montréal’s City Hall, where he cried “Vive le Québec libre!”

Harry Benson

Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1929, Harry Benson has photographed the best-known public personalities and biggest icons from the political, musical and fashion worlds, always encouraging spontaneity: twelve American presidents, from Eisenhower to Trump, Queen Elizabeth II, Sir Winston Churchill, Mohamed Ali (Cassius Clay at the time), The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Andy Warhol, James Brown, Sophia Lauren, Dolly Parton, Kate Moss, Jack Nicholson, Amy Winehouse, to name a few. He covered race riots in the United States in the 60s, Vietnam War protests, as well as the assassinations of Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King and John Lennon. He infiltrated the ranks of the KKK in South Carolina, socialized with the IRA, etc.

Harry Benson has spent the last five decades capturing iconic images of world leaders, presidents, celebrities, and crucial historical moments.  As a photojournalist from London, Benson truly launched his career while traveling on assignment with the Beatles to cover their first tour in America.  The Scottish born photographer began his career at the Hamilton Advertiser before moving to Fleet Street where he worked for London’s Daily Sketch and the Daily Express. Upon his arrival with the Beatles in 1964, Benson decided to stay in America where he would go on to work for publishing greats such as Life Magazine, People Magazine, Vanity Fair, and Architectural Digest.

Under contract with LIFE Magazine for 30 years, Harry Benson’s photographs have been featured in leading magazines, such as Time, Vanity Fair, Newsweek, Vogue Paris, Paris Match, Forbes, Town & Country, Architectural Digest, People, and the London Sunday Times Magazine.

Harry Benson published sixteen books, took part in a number of exhibitions and was presented with the most prestigious of prizes for his work. In 2009, Benson was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for service to photography. He received an Honorary Doctor of Letters from both St. Andrews University and Glasgow University, Scotland, and is an Honorary Fellow of London's Royal Photographic Society. He has twice been named NPPA Magazine Photographer of the Year. On April 24, 2017, Benson will receive the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Center of Photography in New York City.

Galerie Got Montréal

Located in Old Montréal and opened since February 2016, Galerie Got is a contemporary art gallery that represents numerous internationally-renowned artists (painters, sculptors, photographers). In May of 2016, the gallery presented the first Canadian exhibition of award-winning photographer Steve McCurry and the first Canadian exhibition of French sculptor Quentin Garel in March 2017. The gallery is dedicated to showcasing excellence, the discovery of emerging and well-established artists, and accessibility for all.

Galerie Got Montréal 50 Saint-Paul Street West, Old Montréal Opening hours: Monday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. www.galeriegotmontreal.com

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PAC 2017: Amazonia

 AMAZONIA:
The Shaman and the Mind of the People
April 20 - October 22, 2017

Journey to the Heart of Amazonia: its River, Forest and People

Pointe-à-Callière, the Montreal Archaeology and History Complex, is presenting a new exhibition on Amazonia. The exhibition represents a journey along the Amazon River, through the heart of the Earth’s largest rain forest. It is also an introduction to the history of the Indigenous people living in those far away and not well known places.

The Museum is transformed into the Amazon forest in an immersive and multi-sensory experience that showcases the shamanism and mythology of traditional Amazonian societies, at the same time focusing on their rights, the defence of their ecosystem, and their ways of life. 

Adapted by Pointe-à-Callière from an original concept by the Musée d’ethnographie de Genève (MEG) and with the participation of the Royal Museums of Art and History (RMAH) of Brussels, the exhibition features over 500 remarkable objects from some thirty different ethnic groups, and from nine countries in the Amazon basin. For the first time, the unique and fragile splendours of Amazonia cultures are on display in Montreal. On display are shimmering feathered finery, blowpipes, bows and curare-tipped arrows, everyday objects, basketry, masks, musical instruments, and items required by shamans in their use of hallucinogens.

Feathers play a big role in this collection, not just for their colours and ornamental qualities, but because of the fascination they have always held among European collectors. Along with the aesthetic and decorative aspects, practical and sacred elements are also revealed. Arrows coated in curare, a deadly poison used in hunting and made from unique recipes that vary from one village to another. The sources of these poisons can also be employed—in smaller doses—in hallucinogenic powders used by shamans to contact the invisible world.

The exhibition focuses on what is common to Amazonia many ingenious people – shamanism – and on the great diversity of their material culture. The objects come from different communities dotted across the vast forested territory, comprising parts or all of Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Surinam, Guyana and French Guiana. 

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For more information about the museum and its 2017 activities, visit the PAC Museum's website.