MMFA 2019: Jean McEwen

UNTAMED COLOUR  - PAINTURES BARBARES
CELEBRATING JEAN McEWEN 

September 17, 2019 – February 2, 2020

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is paying homage to a Montreal painter Jean McEwen (1923-1999), commemorating the 20th anniversary of his death. The Museum presents a selection of his works acquired mainly over the last two decades. The great number and the significance of these works, donated by the artist's family and also several local collectors, attest to the special connection between McEwen and the MMFA.

The exhibition, installed in a newly renovated gallery in the Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion, presents about 20 pieces, paintings, and works on paper from 1951 to 1998. They provide an overview and a summary of McEwen's unique artistic approach: an exploration of the pictorial surface through the application of successive layers of paint, thus intensifying the expressiveness of colour within a confined space. He explored the potential of colour to create the illusion of space and surface dynamics. Playing with the duality between colour and structure, he organized his colour fields with great spatial precision while exploring the full potential of colour and the space/plane dynamics. 

Some of the paintings on display highlight international exhibitions dedicated to the artist, which extended as far as Brazil, Japan, USA and England. They include Long Plumb Line No. 2 (1961) that won him a solo exhibition at the Martha Jackson Gallery in New York in 1963, and Open Mauve (1962) that features a central band intersecting two colour fields, a composition that became the artist's signature.

 
The exhibition also showcases McEwen's monumental masterpiece Jubilant Red (1963), on loan from the Power Corporation of Canada Collection. Also included are watercolours from the series "De ma main à la couleur" [Hand to Colour]. Gifted to the MMFA by the artist's wife Indra, which additionally feature McEwen's poems. There is also a recently restored Untitled (1951), a painting that shows Paul-Émile Borduas' influence on McEwen's practice. 

About the Artist

Jean McEwen (1923-1999) was a self-taught painter born in Montreal. He exhibited his works for the first time in 1949, at the MMFA's 66th Annual Spring Exhibition. His early development was shaped by a meeting a fellow Quebec painter Paul-Émile Borduas, as well as a trip to Paris in 1951 where he met Jean-Paul Riopelle and was introduced to prominent avant-garde painters, including most significantly Sam Francis. His return to the Montreal scene coincided with a crucial moment in the history of abstract painting: in 1955, he was part of the Espace 55 exhibition at the MMFA as well as the first collective exhibition of the Galerie actuelle. McEwen subsequently joined the Association des artistes non figuratifs de Montréal (AANFM).

His bold paintings engaged with the Paris and New York avant-garde, which led to a solo exhibition at the Martha Jackson Gallery in New York in 1963. That same year McEwen was invited to represent Canada at the 7th São Paulo Biennial. His work captured the attention of Alfred H. Barr, Jr. of the Museum of Modern Art in New York as well as of Joseph Hirshhorn, both of whom acquired works for their respective institutions.

In 1987-1988, the MMFA hosted the first major retrospective dedicated to the artist: Jean McEwen: Colour in Depth. Paintings and Works on Paper, 1951-1986. In 2005, MMFA held the Jean McEwen "From my Hand into Colour" exhibition that included a series of watercolours by the same name.

The watercolor works on display will be rotated during the duration of the exhibition to show to the public more of McEwans' works on paper.

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Hover over images for description and credits.

All photos courtesy of @MMFA

Exhibition Location

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion – Level 1

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

MMFA 2019: Egyptian Mummies

EGYPTIAN MUMMIES:

EXPLORING ANCIENT LIVES

September 14, 2019 – February 2, 2020

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is hosting the North American premiere of Egyptian Mummies, an exceptional exhibition that combines arts and science based on research undertaken by the British Museum. Among a great number of ancient artefacts, it prominently features six well preserved mummies. Until recently, very little was known about who these people were, how they lived, and how they died. Thanks to the latest non-invasive technology, the viewer is transported several thousand years back in time and discovers the identity of these people who lived along the Nile river between 900 BC and 180 AD. The accompanying 240 objects displayed at the exhibition provide additional context about their lives, beliefs and their deaths.

The study of mummies in the past involved removing their multi-layered wrappings. It was a highly destructive process, rejected by the museums. Recently, thanks to the advanced medical imaging techniques, it became possible to study the mummies quite minutely without unwrapping them. The British Museum used three-dimensional CT‑scanning technology to study the mummies displayed at this exhibition.

Co-Curator of the exhibition and Curator of Bioarchaeology at The British Museum, Daniel Antoine explained:

"The latest scanning technology has allowed us to virtually peel away the layers of wrappings so visitors can explore the carefully mummified remains of six unique individuals in unprecedented detail. Without unwrapping their remains, we have discovered new insights into life and death in ancient Egypt, such as the embalming methods used to preserve the bodies and their state of health at death. Using the latest science and technology, we can begin to understand the person behind the mask whilst ensuring their integrity remains."

CT scanners use a combination of x-rays and a computer to create an image. The x-ray beam circles around the body, creating thousands of transversal images. The data is then gathered by cutting-edge software, which creates detailed 3D visualizations that allow to view the mummies' internal structures without the need to unwrap their fragile remains.

These technological advancements and 3 D imaging have clearly revealed the biological information about each skeleton. By using scoring methods developed by forensic archaeologists and physical anthropologists, age at death could be estimated from dental or skeletal development. The scans can also determine the individuals' sex and height, the illnesses they suffered from, and the embalming process used to preserve them. At this exhibition, the results of such scans are projected on a screen, pointing to different areas of interest. 

The ancient Egyptians believed that proper treatment of the deceased was of crucial importance for ensuring the continuation of a person's existence into the afterlife. The aim was to preserve the entire body to safeguard it from animals and the elements and to give the person a safe passage into the eternity.

The mummies' examination went hand in hand with other areas of research to determine the type of lives these people lived in order to bring into focus the historical and cultural settings of those past times. The 240 additional objects and 3D digital images reveal the most recent discoveries in Egyptology.

The artefacts that the exhibition presents make the past historical era more vivid and help to immerse the visitors into the Ancient Egiptian setting in which the mummified people on display live. On discovers the old Egyptian writing, habits, believes, objects they used, as well as pictorial images they made which give researchers an additional information about their lives.

Six Mummies, Six Lives

Each former inhabitant of the Nile leads the visitor along a path that retells their unique story. The exhibition is divided into six galleries that explore different themes: the mummification concept and techniques, beliefs and religions, diet and health, family life and cultural diversity.

1 – The exhibition opens with Nestawedjat, a married woman from Thebes whose name means "the one who belongs to the wedjat eye." She was probably between 35 and 49 years old at the time of her death in about 700 BCE and had lived during the so-called Kushite Dynast

2 –Tamut, a middle-aged woman, was for her part a chantress of Amun. Her mummy reveals many amulets that were placed on her skin by the embalmer-priests after applying cosmetic treatments. Tamut lived during the Third Intermediate Period, early 22nd Dynasty, about 900 BCE.

3 –Irthorru was a high stolist priest of Akhmin's temple in charge of dressing the god Min, and was the master of secrets. His mummy bears witness to a life spent in service of the gods as well as the power that priests of his rank held in ancient Egypt. Irthorru was a middle-aged adult (35-49 years) and lived at the Late Period, 26th Dynasty, about 600 BCE.

4 – An unnamed priestess takes us back to the temple of Amun, in Karnak. She appears to have been a singer – a title considered to be highly prestigious from the 22nd Dynasty onwards – and was probably between 35 and 49 years old at the time of her death. She lived during the Third Intermediate Period, 22nd Dynasty, about 800 BCE.

5 – The young boy from Hawara lived during the Roman period. The care with which he was prepared for the afterlife reflects the newly revered place children occupied in Egypt at the time – mummification of children was rare before then. He died around 40-60 CE.

6 – Similar to hundreds of others found in the oasis of Faiyum, the last mummy in the exhibition is decorated with a portrait. His identity is unknown, but on the wooden slab, this young man from Thebes is portrayed with dark curly hair and wide eyes. Research has revealed that he died at about 17 to 20 years of age and lived during the Roman Period, about 140–180 CE.

Educational activities

To cap off the exhibition, an educational space was designed by Perrine Poiron, PhD candidate in History and Egyptology (UQAM and Université Paris-Sorbonne), in collaboration with Ubisoft. In it, visitors can explore ancient Egypt via a digital experience combining the Egyptian Pantheon and rituals observed for passing into the afterlife.

Click on images to enlarge them.

All Photos in this article © Nadia Slejskova

Exhibition Location

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion – Level 2 

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

SIDIM 2019

SIDIM - Salon du Design
31st Edition

September 12 - 13, 2019

The annual Montreal International Design Show (SIDIM), held for years in the spring, has been moved this year to September. It is a gathering place intended to showcase the new design innovations by Quebec designers and artists, a place for them to present their latest products and to share their ideas with other creative artists and the public. This show offers a reference framework for the design lovers, those who are ready to renovate and refurbish their living spaces and offices, and for those who simply wish to get a better overview of new design directions and possibilities.

The show addresses such areas of design as architecture, renovation items, decoration, works of art, illumination, accessories, landscaping, furniture, stationery, and various other local products.

The art area at the show features works by the local Quebec artists.

Chairs and armchairs designs will also catch visitors' attention.

A special place at the show is devoted to smaller artisanat creations that could be purchased at the spot and carried home.

A food and beverages area will also offers innovative products.

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All Photos in this article © Nadia Slejskova

For more information, visit SIDIM website.

View all SIDIM previous posts here and also here.