It Came In A Dream
Une collaboration entre Pierre-Francois Ouellette art contemporain et le Drake Hotel

Avec des oeuvres de :

Adad Hannah
Luc Courchesne
Marc Audette
Jérôme Fortin
Alexandre Castonguay
Dil Hildebrand
Chih Chein Wang
John Latour


(texte en anglais)

In the lazy, hazy days of summer much of art world takes a break from the formal exhibitions, lectures and events that rule the calendar through the rest of the year. But that doesn't mean we drop out altogether. Instead we travel, leisurely exploring villages, parks and museums from Prince Edward County to Paris. With this exhibition, It Came In A Dream, I wanted to give Toronto and visitors to the Drake an opportunity to revel in a little French culture and gain a better sense of the art coming out of Quebec, and particularly Montreal. Over the last couple of years, I have been amazed by the incredible art work coming out of Quebec, artists such as Michel de Broin, Isabelle Hayeur and the collective BGL have certainly been stand-outs in the current French Invasion.

The lobby opens the show with some more well known Montreal-based artists including the formidable Jérôme Fortin with one of his highly acclaimed paper sculptures; hung alongside two stunning new paintings by Dil Hildebrand, winner of RBC Painter’s Prize (2007). Luc Courchesne’s beguiling circular photographs, glow from the back wall right to the front door.

Head upstairs to the hotel and take in a powerful selenium toned photograph by Marc Audette. This print is a rare non-silver process, giving the piece a rich painterly quality. Turn around, and you'll see on the opposite wall another another photographic innovation, in a panoramic image of a recording studio by Alexandre Castonguay.

John Latour presents an installation of vintage photographs and text works in the cafe that have a quiet dreamy feeling, like a faint memory of a beautiful day. Chih Chein Wang's recent photographs have a little more bite as does Adad Hannah's image of a mysterious struggle. Hannah's acclaimed Still series appear on screens throughout our Public Spaces, so take a moment to relax with these gorgeous images, particularly those from his recent Prado Stills series in the lobby, shot in the famous Prado Museum in Spain and let yourself be transported to another place, if only for a few moments.


Mia Nielsen
Conservatrice


Pour plus de renseignments sur la programmation beaux-arts au Drake consulter le site officiel :: http://www.thedrakehotel.ca/culture/art