Collection of the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Concordia University. Gift of the artist, 1995. Photo: Paul Smith.
May 24 – August 3, 2012
A project by Marie-France Daigneault Bouchard
With artworks by Roland Brener, David Duchow, Lauréat Marois, Kim Ondaatje
Marie-France Daigneault Bouchard is interested in architecture, landscape, and their modes of representation. It was these interests that lead her to focus on landscapes in the Gallery’s collection for Sightings II: constructed / generic / altered / industrial. She was drawn to four works by the Canadian artists Roland Brener, David Duchow, Lauréat Marois, and Kim Ondaatje for their lucid examinations of landscapes marked by human traces, some more tangible than others.
More specifically, Daigneault Bouchard attempts to frame the site of consumption— generally situated within the urban centre and closely linked to its inhabitants—in relation to the sites of production that support them, often situated on the margins. Roland Brener’s work inspired her to create a presentation display evoking the traditional western home that informs her investigation of an environment, both natural and cultural.
Marie-France Daigneault Bouchard holds an undergraduate and professional Master’s degree in architecture from the Université de Montréal. She also studied architecture for one year at the Universidad Autónoma de México in Mexico D.F. In 2009, she helped organise, as part of the curatorial team, the exhibition Total Environment: Montreal 1965-1975 at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal. She is Master’s candidate in the art history program at Concordia University. Her thesis examines the live presentation of the construction of the hydroelectric barrage, Manic 5, on large-scale screens at Expo 67.
Roland Brener (1942 – 2006) was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and moved to Canada in 1974. He graduated from St. Martins School of Art, London. He represented Canada at the Bienal Internacional de São Paulo in 1987 and the Venice Biennale in 1988. The sculptor died in Victoria, British Columbia in 2006 where he had taught for over 20 years at the University of Victoria. Brener was often featured in solo and group exhibitions across Canada and the United States. His work is part of many major public collections of Canada.
David Duchow (1949 – ) is a self-taught artist specializing in traditional photography from 1966 to 1997, and in digital photography starting in 1998. He was a Senior Technician in the Fine Arts Photography program at Concordia University from 1978 to 2003. He participated in many local, national, and international exhibitions between 1969 and 1999. Duchow has also collaborated on various projects, notably the realization of videos and projections for the art-rock group, The Church.
Lauréat Marois (1949 – ) is an artist who studied Fine Arts in Quebec City and has a teaching degree specializing in visual arts at Laval University in 1972. He teaches painting and drawing at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi and Laval University in Quebec City where he currently lives. Marois’ artworks have been featured in many solo and group exhibitions in Quebec, Canada, and abroad. His prints and paintings are part of various collections.
Kim Ondaatje (1928 – ) studied at the Ontario College of Art in Toronto and McGill University in Montreal. She completed a Master’s degree in Canadian Literature at Queen’s University. Until 1964, Ondaatje served as a part-time lecturer at Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, and the Université de Sherbrooke. Alongside London-based artists Jack Chambers and Tony Urquhart, Ondaatje helped found Canadian Artists Representation (CARFAC) in 1968. Her paintings and films are part of various public collections across Canada.
The Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery’s contemporary exhibition program is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.