Kicks at the can

A guy like Omen would naturally have no problem filling a gallery for a solo show on a regular basis, but a bout of bronchitis has meant less painting and plenty of time taking it easy at home in Taiwan of late.

Still, the show will go on at Sub-V (5666 Sherbrooke W.). A selection of Omen’s latest, true to its Made in Taiwan title, opens at the gallery tomorrow, Feb. 3, only with a little more space on the walls than first anticipated—that has sent Sub-V’s José Bernatchez a-scrambling.

“It’s all good,” he says, having since filled the bill with a Syps vs. Drefus battle. “It’s a special bonus. These guys are young, but they’re les Omen de demain.” Check out the vernissage from 7–11 p.m., free. The show continues through March 5. —Matthew Woodley

From Russia with love

The last time the 275-year-old gilded carriage that is now sitting pretty at the Museum of Fine Arts rolled down the street was in 1894 for the coronation of Russia’s last czar Nicolas II. Then, it was pulled by eight white horses. More recently, 20 strong men with straps moved the coach in crates out of the Hermitage museum in Russia, before it was shipped overseas and hoisted by a 30-ton crane lifted into the MMFA, where it serves as centrepiece for Catherine the Great: Art for Empire.

After overthrowing her husband Peter III in 1762, Catherine II ascended to the throne. She reigned for the next 34 years, presiding over the social and cultural transformations of one of the most remarkable eras in Russian history. An avid art collector, she transformed the capital of Saint Petersburg and was the founder of the Hermitage collections. This exhibition includes paintings and sculptures by 18th-century artists many will recognize from their art history classes: Chardin, Greuze, Mengs, Houdon, Reynolds and Vigée-Lebrun. The exhibition also features furniture, gems, Sèvres porcelain, snuffboxes and treasures from a time before mass production and our current throwaway culture. The trip back in time runs till May 7. —Christine Redfern

Gender blender

The next S.A.T. Mix_Sessions is Fashion Session, featuring Trannie Tronic, pop disco diva extraordinaire. Her nine genre-and gender-defying pieces are going to be thrown into the mix, along with VJing by les Crazy Tapis, spinning and live music with the Musique Nordique DJ team of Quebec Connection and le Monochrome, and catwalk fashion courtesy of überdesigner CO. Trannie has a couple of duets planned with local folk artist Jordi Rosen and Cabaret Mado performer Billy Boy.

“We’ll get Jordi all dressed up in something outrageous, hopefully,” says Tronic. “I may wear a wedding dress again this time—and Mr. Harper can kiss my trannie ass!” That’s tonight, Thursday, Feb. 2, 6–11 p.m. at the S.A.T. (1175 St-Laurent), free. — Vincent  Tinguely

Space and flight

For his new creation, choreographer David Pressault decided he wanted to work differently than in the past. “I didn’t want it to be just about me and my ideas about relationships,” he says. “I wanted it to have a broader sense.”

Pressault invited dancers David Flewelling, Clara Furey and Thea Patterson to brainstorm up a theme and collaborate with him in the creation process. What they found was Lost Pigeons, a co-production with Danse-Cité that touches upon relationships of many forms, whether it be between people, dancers, dancers and audience, or sculpture and space. Because Pressault wanted spectators to feel an intimacy with the dancers, he reconfigured the performance area to encourage moments of proximity, also incorporating an installation by architectural designer Carina Rose that snakes its way through the Theâtre Hydro Québec at the Monument National (1182 St-Laurent). If you catch tonight’s show (Feb. 2), afterwards Pressault and company will pull up chairs and speak to the public. Lost Pigeons runs at 8 p.m. nightly until Feb. 4., 871-2224. —Marites Carino

Is it Art?

PROBOSCIDEA AND RED TAPE: In Montreal, as any chocolate fan/thinking person will have noticed, the familiar elephant icon on the deep-red background of Côte d’Or chocolate wrappers has gone missing. This has made for some exciting times in chocolate-wrapping sleuthery. Intriguingly, the packaging was not redesigned—the elephants are still there, they’ve just been carefully covered by little red stickers (with some products requiring as many as four strategically placed ones.) Intense research has revealed that the whole world is not being deprived of the familiar little logo. The elephant, it seems, is a valuable asset of Kraft’s, and one they have exclusive rights to distribute. Any other company importing Côte d’Or product has to cover the elephant. Solved! Yet one question remains: Will the Pavlovian response, so integral to sweet sales, be stimied by the stickers?

ArtsHole

C’EST QUOI ÇA? La Chapelle (3700 St-Dominique) kicks off the fifth edition of its probing VASISTAS event (think German: “vas ist das”... “what is it”), a forward-thinking zone of interdisciplinary art exploration, this week. This year’s contributions include performances by Manon de Pauw, emergency.exit, Sylvie Cotton, Guy Laramée and Rhizome, and installations by Marc Couroux and Grégory Chatonsky. It runs from Feb. 8–25, 843-7738 or www.lachapelle.org for more info. • COSTUME PARTY: The crazy couture of Quebec costume designer Suzanne Harel gets centre stage at Loto-Québec’s showcase of recent art acquisitions, on display until Feb. 26 at Espace Création (500 Sherbrooke W.).

ARTISTAT: Number of artists adding bits to the bytes at the Saidye’s Database Imaginary exhibition, which explores the rise of the computing and info revolution—vernissage Thursday, Feb. 9, at 6 p.m., runs From Feb. 2–April 2: 23

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