Optical allusions

From porcelain figurines to fashion’s enfant terrible, a round-up of the exhibitions that made the most memorable impressions

WHIMSICAL: Shary Boyle’s “Vermont”

The year started off on the right foot with Shary Boyle’s Flesh and Blood at the Galerie de l’UQÀM. Boyle’s curious porcelain figurines and historically playful paintings took over three of the gallery’s rooms and was one of the most whimsical, beautiful and exceptional exhibits of the year. When Boyle spoke to the Mirror about the show last January she said, “They’re not just objects that I’ve made as an artist, they’re their own thing, and I’m like, ‘I totally respect you,’” which is exactly how you felt about the artist and her work when leaving the exhibit.

RACY: A body suit by Jean Paul Gaultier

I’m sure I would’ve found the MMFA’s The Warrior Emperor and China’s Terracotta Army impressive and interesting, if I’d actually had the patience to wait in line—248,000 people had more endurance than I did. The one exhibit I visited again and again, however, was The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier, which looked back at the designer’s 35-year career. This was the first time the museum has spearheaded a fashion exhibition, and it was made memorable by the inclusion of animated mannequins who sang and spoke throughout the exhibit.

The Quebec Triennale at the MAC was another one of my favourite shows of the year (and you can catch it until Jan. 3). There are some real stand out pieces, including Dean Baldwin’s instal­lation “Ship in a Bottle,” a tipped over sailboat full of bar and boat ephemera that greets you as you enter the museum. It’s great to see Seripop present their large installation work on home turf, and I was particularly mesmerized by Emmanuelle Leonard’s video “La Beau et le laid,” in which school girls talk about the meaning of ugly and beautiful.

One of the most immersive and impressive works in the show is Matt Shane and Jim Holyoak’s “Quagmire,” sweeping historical/cultural narrative that expanded on Holyoak’s piece “Holocene,” which was displayed at Concordia’s FOFA Gallery earlier in the year.

HISTORIC RETHINK

PARTY BOAT: Dean Baldwin’s “Ship in a Bottle”

And speaking of Concordia, their most memorable exhibit had to be Kent Monkman’s My Treaty is with the Crown, at the Ellen Bina Gallery, in which the artist re-imagined and recreat­ed the battle between Wolfe and Montcalm with lots of humour and gender-bending panache.

American painter John Currin, whose work blends art history references with 70s comic style, brought his latest adult-only work to DCH/ART. It was an enchanting show made memorable by the giggles from my mother and aunt who just couldn’t handle the dicks and tits.

Local photographers made lasting impressions, including Guillaume Simoneau’s Love and War, a series of photos that follow a young woman over eight years of her life, including her time fighting in the Iraq war. And Kate Hutchinson’s Ulysses was a touching portrait of her relationship with her father, James Joyce’s classic and the city of Dublin. Jim Verburg and Isabelle Hayeur were standouts at this year’s Mois de la Photo with exhibits at B-312 and Division Gallery respectively.

Feminist gallery La Centrale celebrated the work of seminal Canadian artist Will Munro, who passed away last May at the age of 35, after a long battle with cancer. Inside the Solar Temple of the Cosmic Leather Daddy was all sorts of provocative, thought-provoking and playful.

Finally, performance artist Miranda July’s reading and talk ain November at the Ukrainian Federation straddled the world between visual art and books and was one of the most inspiring events of the year. It’s rare to find an artist who so earnestly devotes themselves to connecting with their audience, however fleeting that connection may be. ■

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