Getting out and seeing other people's art - version 03.25
Howdy!
On Friday we attempted to go see the Jocelyne Alloucherie exhibit at Universite de Montreal. Unfortunately, it is only open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays - from noon until 6 pm (so much for making it easy for people to see art).
So we ended up going to Galerie de Bellefeuille. They had an exhibition of Carmelo Blandino's work up. Now, for the uninitiated - de Bellefeuille is probably the most successful commercial gallery here in town. It hardly ever gets any reviews, but the stuff that they hang on the walls regularly sells, and sells out. My best guess as to why is due to a very good combo of location - timing (they've been open for 25 years) - and an eye towards quality. All the artists that I've seen there, know what they are doing when they pick up a paintbrush or a chisel.
On the other hand, it is going to be extremely difficult to find any art there that could be considered sharper than a butter knife. Whether this is due to them responding to a need dictated by their clientele, or their judgment on the true nature of Contemporary Canadian Art or (most likely) some combination of the two is open to discussion.
But, back to the issue at hand - Mr. Blandino's art. Overall I thought it wasn't half bad. The flowers really didn't turn my crank, but his landscapes did, and I think it partially had to do withe size of the canvasses more than anything else - but then again my taste in art has been called anything from capricious to strange. If I were to give the exhibit a grade I'd say something along the lines of a strong B. More having to do with the number of red dots on the wall tags than the actual content. If you're interested, I'd also give a Stephen King novel a "strong B."
But while we were there the thing that really caught my eye was the show that they're going to be doing as of April 14. It's called "Figura" and as far as I can tell I ain't ever seen anything like it happen here in Montreal.
And then lastly, I should thank Dominique Toutant for his time, 'cuz he definitely went above and beyond the call of duty with the amount of time he spent with us.
On Friday we attempted to go see the Jocelyne Alloucherie exhibit at Universite de Montreal. Unfortunately, it is only open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays - from noon until 6 pm (so much for making it easy for people to see art).
So we ended up going to Galerie de Bellefeuille. They had an exhibition of Carmelo Blandino's work up. Now, for the uninitiated - de Bellefeuille is probably the most successful commercial gallery here in town. It hardly ever gets any reviews, but the stuff that they hang on the walls regularly sells, and sells out. My best guess as to why is due to a very good combo of location - timing (they've been open for 25 years) - and an eye towards quality. All the artists that I've seen there, know what they are doing when they pick up a paintbrush or a chisel.
On the other hand, it is going to be extremely difficult to find any art there that could be considered sharper than a butter knife. Whether this is due to them responding to a need dictated by their clientele, or their judgment on the true nature of Contemporary Canadian Art or (most likely) some combination of the two is open to discussion.
But, back to the issue at hand - Mr. Blandino's art. Overall I thought it wasn't half bad. The flowers really didn't turn my crank, but his landscapes did, and I think it partially had to do withe size of the canvasses more than anything else - but then again my taste in art has been called anything from capricious to strange. If I were to give the exhibit a grade I'd say something along the lines of a strong B. More having to do with the number of red dots on the wall tags than the actual content. If you're interested, I'd also give a Stephen King novel a "strong B."
But while we were there the thing that really caught my eye was the show that they're going to be doing as of April 14. It's called "Figura" and as far as I can tell I ain't ever seen anything like it happen here in Montreal.
And then lastly, I should thank Dominique Toutant for his time, 'cuz he definitely went above and beyond the call of duty with the amount of time he spent with us.
posted by Zeke's, the Montreal Art Gallery on 28.3.05
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