Self-Portraits

Jérôme Fortin has returned to Japanese culture for inspiration in his latest production, a series titled Autoportraits that he is presenting at Pierre-François Ouellette art contemporain from September 3 to October 18, 2008. The work was produced last fall as part of an artist residency at TOKYO WONDER SITE (www.tokyo-ws.org), a centre for contemporary art production, research, presentation, and exchange.

Fortin created his "Self-Portraits" from paper-based objects he found and collected while strolling through the streets of Tokyo. The series is primarily inspired by the traditional practice and healing ritual of Senbazuru, or Thousand Origami Cranes. Also informed by his prior experiences in Japan, the works are suggestive of kimonos, of the fabric they are made from, and of their mode of presentation in shop window displays and museums.

Autoportraits recalls the Écrans (Screens) series that Fortin presented in a solo exhibition at the Musée d'Art Contemporain de Montréal (www.macm.org), in spring 2007.

The artist would like to thank Tokyo Wonder Site, the Embassy of Canada in Tokyo, the Conseil des arts du Québec, and the Canada Council for the Arts.


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Born in Joliette in 1971, Jérôme Fortin has participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions. His installations have been selected for significant exhibitions such as "La Biennale de Montréal 1998", "Growth & Risk Québec New York" (2001), "Officina America" in Bologna, Italy (2002) and "L'envers des apparences" in Montéal, Québec (2005). He recently had a major solo exhibition at the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal (2007). His work can be found in the collections of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, the Musée d'art de Joliette and several private collections. For more information on Jérôme Fortin please consult his personal website: http://www.jeromefortin.com

 

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SCULPTURES

Autoportrait no. 1 2007 bambou and miscellaneous folded paper variable dimensions		Autoportrait no. 1 (detail)

Autoportrait no. 2 2008 bambou and miscellaneous folded paper variable dimensions		Autoportrait no. 2 (detail)

Autoportrait no. 3 2008 bambou and miscellaneous folded paper variable dimensions		Autoportrait no. 3 (detail)

COLLAGES AND ENGRAVINGS

Untitled 2007 collage 124.5 x 91.5 cm		Untitled 2007 collage 124.5 x 91.5 cm

Extrait no. 1 2008 collage 41 cm diam.		Extrait no. 2 2008 collage 32.5 cm diam.		Extrait no. 3 2008 collage 40 cm diam.

Ostinato no. 7 A 2008 engraving plaque 34 cm diam.		Ostinato no. 7 B 2008 monotype 75 x 56 cm

HELD-OVER IN THE VIDEO ROOM:
VIDEO INSTALLATION BY CHIH-CHIEN WANG

Time Measurement #3, #4, #5: “Illustrating the time of peeling bean fibers” 2008 video installation 24:04 min. 1/5

Time Measurement #5: “Illustrating the time of peeling bean fibers – Strawberry” 2008 video projection 24:04 min.		Time Measurement #4: “Illustrating the time of peeling bean fibers – Storm” 2008 video projection 24:04 min.		Time Measurement #3: “Illustrating the time of peeling bean fibers – Bean” 2008 video projection 24:04 min.

Marie-Ève Charron. "À lire entre les lignes" Le Devoir (Montreal) 11 October 2008 (in French)
Review of the show on from-montreal.com (in Japanese)
Jérôme Fortin's official website www.jeromefortin.com
Jérôme Fortin's artist page on PFOAC website
Chih-Chien Wang's artist page on PFOAC website

click icon below to download recent C.V.s of the artists (adobe PDF)