72. �ric Devlin, 1407 Saint Alexandre, Montr�al, Qu�bec, H3A 2G3, (514) 866-6272
Howdy!
Since I copped out yesterday and didn't write much of anything, I've figured that I can make up for it today (and in the future, too) by writing about certain galleries on the list. Today I've decided that number 72 is the lucky winner!
M. Devlin opened his gallery in 1988 (I think). I've heard rumors to the effect that he initially was one of the three points in Galerie Trois Points, however I have never confirmed this with him. His gallery is about 1,000 square feet in what used to be Stornoway, which was pretty much a party-hearty type of place that would throw some art on the walls just to look official. I've also heard rumors to the effect that his rent is so cheap that you'd be hard pressed to be able to eat at McDonald's if you were his landlord, but as it is winter, subsistence on Beets is possible.
I've been there a bunch of times, and one of the things that I like is that he pretty much ignores my ass when I walk in the door. It enables me to look at what I want to see, and get the hell out of Dodge. On the flip side, having one's ass ignored is never a comfortable situation, as the room (it is a one room gallery) is pretty much a square shape, I attribute this to the genetic coding implicit in owning a White Cube Gallery. He also might be ignoring me because I am not Y-Chromosome challenged, and/or because he has me pegged (correctly, too I might add) as a non-purchaser. I've seen him be very friendly (very very friendly) to people of a more rounded persuasion, and I imagine if I was wearing a Rolex prominently, he might get up from behind his desk to say "hi" to me.
But all of that is pretty much irrelevant to the Art that he shows there. [Full Disclosure: I know one of the artists he represents personally. Although I have never seen an exhibition of his at �ric Devlin.] He seems to stick with stuff that would be considered cutting edge for people who invest in mutual funds and drive Oldsmobiles. None of what I have seen, seems likely to change the world, or my life, but it tends to be technically well done, and because it veers towards being large, impressive. But then again, there ain't no couches hanging around, so the stuff that he is selling (prices seem to be in the mid-four figures) is meant to be bought and then built around.
For people who are allergic to dogs, be forewarned, he's got a particularly friendly pooch that hangs out with him more often than not. The shows that he presents, tend towards about a dozen pieces all hung about a foot off of the floor (I told you that he liked big stuff) and the times that I have remembered to look at the price list, it seemed that about half of the works had been sold. Given the prices, and the rent, he obviously doesn't need to ride a bike to work. I've never been invited to, nor have I ever crashed a vernissage of his, so I can't comment on the quality of the wine, or the crowd. But, I do have a non-vague idea of what both of them would be like (cheap, and not, respectively, but I have been wrong before). He as well, has never stepped foot in this here gallery (as far as I know) so his thinking might be along the lines of "beer?!?! And what's with all the piercings? I don't like.")
On his web site he lists the following artists: Andr�-Pierre Arnal, Louis-Pierre Bougie, John Brown, Mich�le Delisle, Richard Desch�nes, Oliver Dorfer, Marbod Fritsch, Fran�ois Jeune, Sophie Lanctot, Fran�ois-Xavier Marange, Jean-Marie Martin, Guido Molinari, Marc-Antoine Nadeau, Dominique Paul, Denis Pellerin, Leopold Plotek, Thibaut de Reimpr�, Martin-M�ller Reinhart, Marcel Saint-Pierre, Horacio Sapere, Francine Simonin, Marc-Andr� Soucy, Ariane Th�z�.
What else would you like to know?
Since I copped out yesterday and didn't write much of anything, I've figured that I can make up for it today (and in the future, too) by writing about certain galleries on the list. Today I've decided that number 72 is the lucky winner!
M. Devlin opened his gallery in 1988 (I think). I've heard rumors to the effect that he initially was one of the three points in Galerie Trois Points, however I have never confirmed this with him. His gallery is about 1,000 square feet in what used to be Stornoway, which was pretty much a party-hearty type of place that would throw some art on the walls just to look official. I've also heard rumors to the effect that his rent is so cheap that you'd be hard pressed to be able to eat at McDonald's if you were his landlord, but as it is winter, subsistence on Beets is possible.
I've been there a bunch of times, and one of the things that I like is that he pretty much ignores my ass when I walk in the door. It enables me to look at what I want to see, and get the hell out of Dodge. On the flip side, having one's ass ignored is never a comfortable situation, as the room (it is a one room gallery) is pretty much a square shape, I attribute this to the genetic coding implicit in owning a White Cube Gallery. He also might be ignoring me because I am not Y-Chromosome challenged, and/or because he has me pegged (correctly, too I might add) as a non-purchaser. I've seen him be very friendly (very very friendly) to people of a more rounded persuasion, and I imagine if I was wearing a Rolex prominently, he might get up from behind his desk to say "hi" to me.
But all of that is pretty much irrelevant to the Art that he shows there. [Full Disclosure: I know one of the artists he represents personally. Although I have never seen an exhibition of his at �ric Devlin.] He seems to stick with stuff that would be considered cutting edge for people who invest in mutual funds and drive Oldsmobiles. None of what I have seen, seems likely to change the world, or my life, but it tends to be technically well done, and because it veers towards being large, impressive. But then again, there ain't no couches hanging around, so the stuff that he is selling (prices seem to be in the mid-four figures) is meant to be bought and then built around.
For people who are allergic to dogs, be forewarned, he's got a particularly friendly pooch that hangs out with him more often than not. The shows that he presents, tend towards about a dozen pieces all hung about a foot off of the floor (I told you that he liked big stuff) and the times that I have remembered to look at the price list, it seemed that about half of the works had been sold. Given the prices, and the rent, he obviously doesn't need to ride a bike to work. I've never been invited to, nor have I ever crashed a vernissage of his, so I can't comment on the quality of the wine, or the crowd. But, I do have a non-vague idea of what both of them would be like (cheap, and not, respectively, but I have been wrong before). He as well, has never stepped foot in this here gallery (as far as I know) so his thinking might be along the lines of "beer?!?! And what's with all the piercings? I don't like.")
On his web site he lists the following artists: Andr�-Pierre Arnal, Louis-Pierre Bougie, John Brown, Mich�le Delisle, Richard Desch�nes, Oliver Dorfer, Marbod Fritsch, Fran�ois Jeune, Sophie Lanctot, Fran�ois-Xavier Marange, Jean-Marie Martin, Guido Molinari, Marc-Antoine Nadeau, Dominique Paul, Denis Pellerin, Leopold Plotek, Thibaut de Reimpr�, Martin-M�ller Reinhart, Marcel Saint-Pierre, Horacio Sapere, Francine Simonin, Marc-Andr� Soucy, Ariane Th�z�.
What else would you like to know?
posted by Zeke's, the Montreal Art Gallery on 14.2.04
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