Bernard Landriault and Michel Paradis have been collecting contemporary Quebec art for more than 25 years and presently own close to 200 works. At first glance, their collection appears eclectic, with no one medium, artist, theme or movement predominating. This is not surprising, since it began with diverse pieces that caught their fancy at exhibitions. But the works that attract them often share a peculiar feature, an invisible bond of kinship. Landriault and Paradis do not collect objects of art as such. Most of the time their choices are based less on the material properties of a work than on the methods used to create it; in other words, they involve the material-method relationship and the discrepancy, or gap, between the making process devised by the artist and the work’s final appearance. The emphasis on process emerged with Post-Minimal Art and Process Art more than 40 years ago, but the (then modern) concept was based on the premise of transparency: the production steps and strategies had to be plainly and clearly legible in the completed object or drawing. Conversely, Landriault and Paradis are drawn to works that cunningly obscure the ways and means of their making. As a result, exhibiting part of their collection represents an attempt – and a challenge – to demonstrate the practice of two collectors who collect both practices and works of art.
The exhibition presents works grouped by verb (Relier [link], Trouver [find], Détourner [divert]) or by approach, as well as a section on the particular rituals of this collecting adventure. The line-up includes works by Francine Savard, Adad Hannah, Raphaëlle de Groot, Lynne Cohen and others.
Presentation on Saturday, February 8, 2014 at 2pm
Opening / Launch on Saturday, February 8, at 3pm