Alexandre Masino

Contre-Jour, Numéro 25

2011-12-20T17:19:00.006-05:00

Couverture de Contre-Jour, cahiers littéraires

Numéro 25, Automne 2011

J’ai été invité à publier 20 tableaux dans le numéro actuel des cahiers littéraires Contre-Jour (Numéro 25, Automne 2011). Cette collaboration est très intéressante puisque la revue invite un artiste par numéro, reproduit les oeuvres en grand format et donne beaucoup de latitude quant aux oeuvres proposées. Contrairement à un catalogue d’exposition qui se penche nécessairement sur la production récente, la revue couvre les dix dernières années de mon travail telle une mini rétrospective. En plus de tableaux de paysages, de natures mortes et de vues d'intérieurs, vous y retrouverez trois monotypes à l'encaustique, technique d'oeuvre sur papier que je pratique depuis quelques années.

J’ai été particulièrement heureux d’être invité à collaborer au numéro actuel puisqu’il traite principalement de l’essai littéraire et de sa place dans le paysage québécois actuel. Intellectuellement riche et dense, ce numéro jumelle la rigueur conceptuelle à la prise de position subjective, ce qui me convient tout particulièrement. Je vous invite donc, si la chose vous intéresse, à consulter la revue en kiosque ou en libriaire.

Alexandre Masino

Genèse (Portrait de Fayoum au Louvre), 2008

Encaustique et feuille d'or sur panneau

54.5 cm x 79 cm / 21.5" x 31"

Oeuvre récente

2011-09-23T14:37:00.011-04:00

Alexandre Masino

Poussières d'étoiles (Sakura), 2011

Encaustique sur panneau, 45" x 88.5"

for the english version of this text, please read my previous post

Mon travail se situe à la frontière de la mimèsis et de l'invention; réponse à l'observation directe, à la mémoire et à l'imagination. La transition entre ces trois types de perception constitue un espace fertile où je participe à la mouvance du langage visuel comprenant parfaitement que l’art découle de l’art. Le périple que j’entreprends ne se situe pas seulement de par le monde mais à-travers le temps. Le territoire parcouru est le continent de l’art où l'expérience et l'histoire humaine sont fondamentales.

Poussières d'étoiles (Sakura), détail

Mon travail est avant tout pictural prenant son sens dans l'expérience physique et dans la perpétuelle métamorphose qui se déroule sous nos yeux. Ainsi, le tableau vu de près offre une réalité tout autre que le même tableau vu à distance, ou encore, réagit et se transforme selon la lumière ambiante éclairant sa surface. Bon nombre de peintres ont parlé de ce moment où la peinture "se lève", "advient" et prend tout son sens. Dans mon cas, ce moment survient lorsque le spectateur prend le temps, face à l'œuvre, de mettre en rapport le sujet et le fond, la lumière et l'ombre, l'image et la surface, et tous ces éléments en relation à l'ensemble.

Poussières d'étoiles (Sakura), détail

Je peins à l'encaustique des tableaux où la versatilité, la sensualité et la richesse du médium font contrepoids à une imagerie dépouillée et contemplative. Indépendamment du sujet traité, que j’utilise le paysage, la nature morte ou le nu, nous pouvons lier mes oeuvres à une certainte “immensité intime”.

Poussières d'étoiles (Sakura), détail

Mon utilisation de l'encaustique, avec sa physicalité, ses transparences et ses empâtements me permet de créer des oeuvres figuratives de façon à ce que le geste de peindre soit aussi porteur que le sujet représenté. Perpétuel aller-retour entre matière et signifiant, l'inévitable dualisme de la peinture me fascine et par conséquent mon travail se concentre sur cet infime instant de transition où ces deux réalités oscillent l'une avec l'autre.

Poussières d'étoiles (Sakura) dans

mon atelier à Longueuil, 2011

Quote : John Lennon

2011-09-23T13:00:00.000-04:00

Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.

Recent Work

2011-06-06T16:10:00.009-04:00

Alexandre Masino

Transfigurations, 2011

Encaustic on panel, 31.5" x 96"

My paintings border between mimesis and invention; responding to observed reality, memory and imaginative perception. The transition between what is real, remembered or imagined creates a fertile territory for me to evoke the very notion that art derives from art. The journey we undertake is not only a journey through the world but beyond time. The continent that we travel is the continent of art where human history and experience are fundamental.

Transfigurations, detail

My approach is foremost pictorial and is deeply rooted in the constant metamorphosis inherent to the physical act of looking. A painting must offer many different realities according to the distance from which it is viewed and the ambient lighting hitting the surface. Many painters have evoked this very instant when the painting “rises”, when it “happens” and suddenly takes all its meaning. In my work this moment may only happen when one takes the time to look and place the subject in relation with the background, the light with the shadows, the image and the surface, and all these elements in relation with the complete picture.

Transfigurations, detail

I create encaustic paintings where the richness, sensuality and versatility of the medium echo a minimal and contemplative imagery. Whether I use landscapes, still lifes or nudes, I like to approach my subjects matters in relation to some “intimate immensity”.

Transfigurations, detail

My use of encaustic, with its physicality, impasto and transparencies, allows me to create figurative works in which the gesture, the actual act of painting, is just as important and meaningful as the depicted subject. In this regard I am compelled by the inevitable dualism between matter and meaning that we find at the core of painting. Consequently my work focuses on this infinite moment where these realities oscillate.

Transfigurations, detail

Transfigurations, 2011

At night, in my studio

Quote : Albert Einstein

2011-05-16T15:47:00.000-04:00

Imagination is more important than knowledge,

for while knowledge points to all there is, imagination points to all there will be.

Quote taken from "Smart Moves, Why learning is not all in your head" by Carla Hannaford, Ph.D.

Yechel Gagnon : Public Art

2011-05-07T13:43:00.014-04:00

Yechel Gagnon

Entre brume et nuage, 2010

Graphite and graphite powder on Mylar

Ink on Stonehenge paper mounted on aluminium

113.5" x 583.5" / 288 x 1482 cm

Photo : Marc Cramer

Yechel Gagnon's Public Art Projet @ College Jean-de-Brébeuf

5625 rue Decelles, Montréal, Québec

Architects : Menkès Shooner Dagenais LeTourneux

Yechel Gagnon

Entre brume et nuage, 2010

Photo : Marc Cramer

Yechel Gagnon presents Entre brume et nuage, Entre ciel et terre, two very distinct works in appearance which consist of a rich dialogue where the points of reference are subtle yet substantial.

The space offered at the college, through the long corridor and the grand foyer, is double and unique; double in its dimensions and functions, unique by its majestic architecture that embraces the exterior garden and its natural elements. Gagnon chose to use the two different techniques that we may see here, carved plywood and a frottage drawing.

The triptych Entre brume et nuage is created from the plywood bas-reliefs seen in the corridor, but we may look in vain searching which panel corresponds to a particular drawing since the rubbing is a process whereby an entire new work is created by displacement of the paper. Entre brume et nuage presents an imagery oscillating between abstraction and an imaginary landscape echoing a certain tradition of Chinese ink painting.

Yechel Gagnon

Entre brume et nuage, 2010

Photo : Marc Cramer

Yechel Gagnon

Entre brume et nuage, 2010

Photo : Marc Cramer

Yechel Gagnon

Entre brume et nuage, 2010

Photo : Alexandre Masino

Yechel Gagnon

Entre ciel et terre, 2010

Carved poplar plywood

174" x 803.5" / 442 x 2041 cm

Photo : Marc Cramer

In the corridor, Entre ciel et terre also unveils a series of imaginary spaces. Each bas-relief has its own entity, but an attentive eye will discern a long flowing movement from one panel to the other similar to a large imperceptible tide.

Consisting of different formats, the bas-reliefs are integrated between the existing architectural vertical lines of the wall. They accentuate the rhythm in symbiosis with the architecture. Wood, an organic element par excellence, crosses the transparency of the window to rejoin the beauty of the exterior garden. This garden also visible from the foyer is no stranger to the inspiration that underlines the design of the frottage drawings.

One who stops to consider the profound convergence of all these elements will have the pleasure to find themselves in presence of a single work of art where architecture, garden, Entre brume et nuage, Entre ciel et terre are complicit in upholding a single dialogue.

Collaboration : Alexandre Masino, Yan Giguère, Christian Miron, Louis Lussier, Pierre Charrier, Gisèle Millet et Renée Joubert

Yechel Gagnon

Entre ciel et terre, 2010

Photo : Marc Cramer

Yechel Gagnon

Entre ciel et terre, 2010

Photo : Pierre Charrier

Yechel Gagnon

Entre ciel et terre, 2010

Photo : Marc Cramer

Yechel Gagnon

Entre ciel et terre, 2010

Photo : Marc Cramer

Yechel Gagnon

Entre ciel et terre, 2010

Photo : Marc Cramer

Yechel Gagnon; Spheris Gallery

2011-04-20T20:56:00.006-04:00

Yechel Gagnon

Nomad, 2011

Carved custom-made plywood, 47" x 28"

Yechel Gagnon's solo show at the Spheris Gallery

April 30 to May 31, 2011

Vernissage April 30, from 6 to 7:30 PM

Press Release :

Spheris Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of works by Yechel Gagnon. Her signature plywood pieces and etchings will be on view April 30 – May 31. A reception will be held on Saturday, April 30, from 6 to 7:30 PM.

Gagnon finds inspiration in an unlikely material, plywood. Working her material of choice with power and hand tools Gagnon removes layers of wood and glue to reveal hidden patterns and create gestural and contemplative works.

Inspired by the unique nature of each plywood sheet, Gagnon is in constant “dialogue” with her material, at times allowing unique features to guide her creative process and at other times imposing her aesthetic vision upon the wood. Gagnon states “The wood stratification contains an intriguing vocabulary of knots, textures, hues and manufacturing defects that creates their character. In the beginning I have to take them into account but soon I am carried by these elements which stimulate my imagination.”

Gagnon’s plywood works are accompanied by a new series of etchings that continue her inquiry into layering and gestural mark making. The permanence of her mark on the plate mirrors the permanence of her cuts into the plywood. The subtle layers produced by aquatint add texture akin to that found in the wood veneer of the panel works. As Gagnon states “both techniques express a large spectrum of possibilities within a limited palette, bringing the attention to nuances and values, calling the viewer’s willingness to see and imagine in its own way what is mostly suggested."

Yechel Gagnon

Miyajima I, 2011

Sugar-lift, aquatint and spit-bite on Arches paper

14.5" x 26", Edition/9

Yechel Gagnon lives and works in Montreal and is the recipient of grants from both the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec. Her work is held in many private and public collections including the Osler Hoskin & Harcourt Collection Toronto and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.

The Spheris Gallery is open Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 – 5:00, and by appointment.

59 South Main Street, Hanover, NH

(603) 640-6155

Fabienne Verdier

2011-03-29T09:33:00.004-04:00

Fabienne Verdier is a French painter who studied caligraphy and traditional ink painting in China for more than 10 years at a time when it was mostly closed to outsiders. Have a look at her website, it is dense with inspirational information such as paintings and quotes from painters and thinkers from different traditions. It takes a while to click everywhere and on every little "+" but it is worth it as a whole landscape unfolds for us (click here).

Pour ceux qui parlent français, son livre Passagère du silence (Livre de poche), raconte son parcours, ses longues années d'études et les étapes qui l'ont menée à sa production actuelle. C'est un livre fascinant qui nous dépeint la Chine et le long apprentissage de techniques traditionnelles mais principalement la dévotion et la force de caractère d'une femme exeptionelle.

Quote : Albert Einstein

2011-03-23T16:46:00.001-04:00

Learning is experience.

Everything else is just information.

Quote taken from "Smart Moves, Why learning is not all in your head" by Carla Hannaford, Ph.D.

Tom Hopkins 1944-2011

2011-01-30T09:13:00.012-05:00

Tom Hopkins and me (back in my skinny days)

at the opening of my show La Vie immédiate in 2000

When I was studying with Tom at Concordia, 18 years ago, he brought me a cartoon he had found in a newspaper, showing a grungy artist asking his accountant if drug could be considered artist's material.

I don't know about that, but right now I definitely feel like I could use something…

That was Tom, always sharing jokes with everybody. Even recently he sent me a youtube link towards a stand up comedian talking about French people… (link)

Tom and I at a great gathering we had at his country place last August

Photo by Fabian Jean

It is a cliché when someone passes away to talk about their generosity, but in Tom's case, it would be a crime not to mention it over and over again.

I was Tom's student, then his assistant for many years and his studio neighbour for more then 10 years. I can say that working for him I have learned more about being a painter than throughout my whole art education. That was Tom, the most generous person I have known with his knowledge, his advices, his time. When I was working for him, stretching canvases and so on, I joked with him that he didn't need a studio assistant, he needed a secretary to take care of his phone calls.

Tom Hopkins, Photo by Fabian Jean

When our studios were door to door, we had each other's key. We used each other's tools, which means mostly that I was using his tools, and I would come over to drink his coffee and eat his famous studio stew. Tom's door was literally always open for me but it was the same with all the artists and all the students who needed advices. It is true for me and I know it is true for many of us: I would not be the painter that I am if it was not for Tom.

Tom's death is a tragedy for all of us. We lost someone important, but my thoughts go out to you Joan, Anna and Jacob.

Tom Hopkins at the Molinari Foundation, Photo by Fabian Jean

The only comfort that we can share is to know that through his actions, Tom is definitely an important part of us. It is now up to us to keep his vision alive, to share our knowledge, to help each other in this difficult career that is ours and to keep sharing the jokes that make the hard times bearable.

Thank you Tom.

It was a true honour for me to share this obituary at Tom's funeral yesterday.

Article in the Montreal's Gazette

Article in Halifax' Chronicle Herald

Affordable Art Fair, New York

2010-09-17T17:34:00.002-04:00

My gallery from Calgary, The Weiss Gallery, is showing at the AAF in New York. They are taking with them a good group of my monotypes and some encaustic on panel. If you are in the New York area at the end of September, you should try to attend this event. I think the concept of this fair is really interesting as it is a great place to see the work of younger artists and galleries who do their work in backing them up. Usually fairs are so expensive that galleries will display their big names; in this case the whole purpose is to do the opposite and promote works that are not priced over the top. I will be driving down to attend the opening night, visit the fair and see some art in New York. If you want to attend and save on the ticket, the fair is open for free on Friday night October 1st from 6 pm to 8 pm. Making art accessible is their moto.

AAF New York City Fall 2010

September 30 - October 3, 2010

7 West New York (7 West and 34th Street)

Private Preview

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

The Mona Lisa Curse

2010-09-11T10:54:00.013-04:00

The Mona Lisa Curse by Robert Hughes

Robert Hughes, the art critic for the Times Magazine might have been controversial at times but I value his opinions even when I don't agree with him. He is profoundly erudite and his positions are based on knowledge, good research and critical thinking. He wrote several books that found their way onto my shelves, either on Lucian Freud, Frank Auerbach and the most complete book on Goya that I ever read. If you are interested by History, by Spain or by the lives of painters at the time, it is definitly a must. In parallel to this book he realized a documentary titled Goya: Crazy like a Genius that is relatively easy to find. You may also read a very interesting collection of his essays in Nothing if not Critical and his memoir published in 2007 titled Things I Didn't Know.

Amazon Can. - Amazon US

He produced and directed a movie on the art market and the spin the art world has taken in the last 40 years. The great thing is that we can watch the entire movie on Youtube by clicking the 12 segments of 6 minutes each. The movie is fascinating for its overview of the art scene in New York since the 1960s. Hughes underlines and critizices the imperialism of the market within the art world and the total power given to speculation and personal taste (or lack of) of the wealthiest. I agree with him, it is not because someone pays a fortune for a portrait by Klimt that it transforms this painting in the most important painting of the century, as the new owner claims.

I never believed that it was possible for an artist to follow up on their previously sold pieces. I know some artists want the buyer to sign a contract stating that the artist will make a cut on the resales of the work. In theory it is great but how can you enforce this? In any case, Hughes talks about a group of artists who tried to install an Artist Royalty Bill, stating that artists should benefit from the huge profit some investors do at auctions reselling their works. I don't believe an artist can achieve this by himself but it's true, a national or international bill could rectify a situation that is completely bizarre. Lets not forget that the art market is the most unregulated market that exists... If you are curious to know how unregulated the wheels of the market are, there's a great book called The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art by Don Thompson.

Luminous Landscape show

2010-08-24T16:26:00.007-04:00

Invitation card designed by Linda Cordner

The Luminous Landscape group show is touring... After showing in Salem last June, nine artists of the collective are showing on Martha's Vineyard, at the John Stobart Gallery in Edgartown. Participats are Debra Claffey, Linda Cordner, Janet Bartlett Goodman, Pamela Farrell, Julie Shaw Lutts, Alexandre Masino, Rodney Thompson, Charyl Weissbach, and Gregory Wright.

From September 9th to 30th

Vernissage : September 9th - 5:00 to 7:00 pm

The John Stobart Gallery

31 North Summer Strett

Edgartown, MA

508-627-9066

Encaustic Conference : PANEL

2010-07-08T10:51:00.018-04:00

The panel at the Unitarian church, a few doors down from Montserrat College of Art. Photo: Yechel Gagnon

During this year's edition of the Annual International Encaustic Painting Conference, I had the pleasure to be invited by the director, Joanne Mattera, to participate on the main panel. The discussion evolved around the many aspects of having a career as an artist, more specifically artists working with encaustic. The other panelists were Elena De La Ville, Eileen Goldenberg, Barbara Moody, Jane Allen Nodine and Joanne Mattera was the moderator. She delivered many interesting questions and did a great job at keeping the discussion alive with the audience. The panel formed a diverse and interesting group of artists with many different career paths which created a successful and dynamic event. We later decided to put our thoughts and answers in a written form to keep the discussion alive and share our vision on the subject. You may read about the event on the conference blog (click here). Here is my input on the subject.

Barbara Moody, Joanne Mattera, Jane Allen Nodine, Eileen Goldenberg, Alexandre Masino, Elena De La Ville, Laura Tonelli (Montserrat's Dean) Photo: Yechel Gagnon

Question #1

Joanne Mattera : Alexandre, you have a full-time studio practice, though you used to work in a gallery to support yourself. Can you tell us how you were able to make the leap to supporting yourself as a painter?

My leap was more like a long process than a big jump in the void.

Right out of University, I made the conscious decision that all the jobs that I would accept would be art related or at least would require skills that would help me develop a practice as a full time painter. I obviously encountered some really dry times but I knew I didn’t want a full time job; I had to spend as much time as possible in the studio.

I took all kinds of side jobs and at some point they lead one to another. That’s how I became a studio assistant for different painters but mainly for Tom Hopkins. In many respects, this was way more formative than my school years and in times, it felt like I was doing a master degree with him. I learned the daily aspects of running a studio with its many "How to". I met gallery directors, curators and collectors; I met other artists and learned how to wrap and ship a painting…all of these elements were extremely formative.

Photo: Yechel Gagnon

Besides working as a studio assistant, I did some graphic design for different music groups, artists and other clients. This was farther away from my practice than working in a studio but the skills I learned are still truly useful. I now do all the design for my catalogues, ads and most of my invitation cards. Knowing how to use Photoshop and Quark X-Press is crucial to my practice and in the promotion of my career.

On top of these two main jobs, I was doing theater sets and stage lighting. Finally I was offered a job in a gallery, first to hang the shows and then to do all the different aspects of running the business. These years were extremely formative. I had the opportunity to meet many, many artists and do the design for several exhibition catalogues. After 3 years, I had pretty much learned what I could and it became repetitive. I had the bad feeling of spending more time promoting other artists instead of my work and I was no longer learning many new things, so I quit. I kept doing side jobs here and there and later as my career took off, I gradually stop doing them.

The most important thing is to be creative in the way we manage our lives, the same way we are creative in making our art.

An entrepreneur opening a business will usually get a credit line. Bankers don’t tend to like artists so we have to find other ways. This is how I could sometimes live a few months by putting everything on my credit card. I would work like crazy on my art and the promotional aspects. It is indeed a life of insecurity but it allowed me to do exhibitions and build up my experience and my C.V. and work 100% on my art.

Two days before this panel, I went to the ICA in Boston and saw some pieces of Tara Donovan. Reading the interview in her catalogue, we learn about her early days. When she was working on her first large installation, she was so broke that even Home Depot declined her a credit card to buy the tar paper she needed. She then took things a step further than me and asked one of her good friend to get the credit card. She purchased what she needed and later paid back her friend. Now, she is showing in museums across the United States and major galleries represent her.

Tara Donovan, Transplanted, 2001

Ripped & Stacked Tarpaper.

Photo : Ace Gallery

Tara Donavan, ICA catalogue

amazon (CDN), amazon (US)

I'm underlying these aspects of the career as it is important to understand that when we see an artist publishing a beautiful catalogue or doing large installations requiring important investments, it doesn't necessarily mean that the artist is the lucky one with family money. It might just be that the artist is in dept but decided that realizing these specific projects was worth the risk.

Spending money on one's career is not an expense, it is an investment.

What ever we do, we have to find ways that works for us and for our situation. This being said, I truly believe in the importance of investing time and energy towards quality. If you do an invitation card, do the best one you can. Get the nicer paper, the nicer reproduction and the nicer design possible, even if it is expensive. Once the card is done, find even more money and buy tons and tons of stamps, and send them out!

Find creative solutions.

I don’t invest in retirement funds, stocks, mutual funds or anything else, every single penny I have goes into my career. Anyway, I'm not planning to retire… I just do what I strongly believe in and I make all my decisions thinking of the long term. Being the flavor of the month never appealed to me.

The Venice Biennale is probably the ultimate Holy Grail event in the Contemporary Art World. It's director, Francesco Bonami, stated in the Tate Magazine of May 2007 that 80% of the young artists shown at the biennale disappeared from the art scene in the last 10 years. I make my decisions thinking of the long term and I remind myself on a regular basis the words of wisdom of Giorgio Morandi: My only ambition is to enjoy the peace and quiet that I require in order to work.

Photo: Yechel Gagnon

Questions #2

Joanne Mattera : You’re represented by Galerie de Bellefeuille, one of the premier galleries in Montreal. You also show through Canada, in the US, and in Europe. Would you talk a bit about the logistics of exhibiting internationally?

The logistics of showing internationally are basically the same as showing regionally except that everything is way more expensive!

You have to deal with custom papers and brokers, packing the work securely and shipping. Once the show is over, there is the return shipment. You have to pay for your own traveling expenses when attending the openings. There are also the other travel expenses in scouting out possible galleries, meeting curators and dealers. The time and energy spent doing research to find venues is not to be underestimated; sending out catalogues and invitations plays a big part in the firsts steps of the process, but ultimately you have to travel and meet with the people you might or might not work with.

Showing internationally, as an artist doing everything independently, is time and energy consuming and it is indeed expensive. However, I truly believe it is a crucial step in developing a career.

When I started to approach galleries after graduating from University, I went for what I knew and what was close to me in Montréal. They all rejected me… To make things more enjoyable I started a collection of refusal letters as the phrasing in these can be quite bizarre or even funny if you don't take it personal. There is a saying in the art world that if you don't get refusal letters it is because you are not applying to enough projects!

In order to be accepted in galleries and curated shows, it is important to distinguish yourself. When I was approaching galleries in Montréal, I was a painter among many thousand other painters from Montréal. That is when I went to Chicago with my portfolio - on which I had spent two full weeks putting together and doing the design - to approach a gallery I had heard was looking for painters. Being a painter from abroad helped distinguish myself and helped my case as it was good for the gallery (a middle range gallery) to represent international artists. After meeting with the gallery owner three days in a row (during the International Art Fair of Chicago), just minutes before going back to Montréal, she offered me a solo show five months later! It was the first and only time that I was promoted as a French Canadian painter. After that it was easier to distinguish myself in Canada. I was a young painter with a gallery in Chicago.

Photo: Yechel Gagnon

Like I said earlier, I truly believe in the importance of the quality level of everything that bears our name. It doesn't matter if it is a slide sheet, an invitation card, a blog or anything else, if you want people to be interested in working with you, it has to be of high quality, bearing professionalism. Once you attain this, the second most important thing is to make decisions thinking of the long term. Good art dealers know their business and they will give you good advices. It is important to follow good advices, but it is just as important to know when to stop listening to advices. This may occur when they are only good for the short term and not for the long one.

There are different types of galleries and it is interesting to do business with many of them. Some galleries don't have a beautiful space but they sell. Some galleries have museum like spaces but they don't sell. Some galleries are in the business for more than thirty years and represent 60 or more artists. Other galleries are open for two years and represent twelve artists. All these galleries may be good for our career. It is a question of finding people that you can trust and that you feel comfortable working towards the same goal.

No matter what type of business relations we have with galleries, with curators or anybody else, the most important thing is to stay in control of our production and not to be pressured by the necessity of a certain venue or a certain market. It seems obvious but it is more difficult to follow then we think. Mira Schor (website, blog) wrote a beautiful essay on the subject entitled On Failure and Anonymity that we find in her book Wet. The whole essay is filled with poignant notions but here are a few quotes:

amazon (CDN), amazon (US)

Mira Schor (website, blog), On Failure and Anonymity :

Expectations of glory veil the real life of the artist, and if being in the studio is the priority, the life is difficult.

Real success is the ability to continue making art that is alive.

To survive the long run to continue to function, someone ought to tell you that there is a long run. To survive, it is necessary to stand for something within yourself and yet always doubt your own deepest beliefs. It is necessary to have the agglomeration of terrors and hopes, delights and doubts that make up a soul. Perhaps a soul is culturally bound and determined, but it can be more than a slave to fashion. Follow fashion and be fifteen minutes late. Trends are fleeting. A lifetime of art cannot be built on a weather vane.

The life of the work, the ecology of the studio is what I am interested in, when the doors are closed on the pressures of the marketplace. And in this life there is always failure, no matter how much money is made. For it is a given that there is always a gap between what the artist wants the work to be and what it is, between the original goal and the weird paths that are taken. Life continues only as long as the blind chase down the path. There is tremendous fear on that chase because the relationship between artist and artwork is one of intimacy with the self, and intimacy is truly terrifying and can never be fully achieved.

The greatest thing an art school could give a student is access to this anonymous life of the studio, recognition of its supreme importance to the inner survival of the artist and to the creation of meaningful art that transcends fashion and money.

Photo: Yechel Gagnon

Question #3 (Question not asked in the panel due to time issues)

Joanne Mattera : You have done several residencies. What have they done for your career, both in terms of helping you develop the work and in terms of advancing your career as a result of the time and money accorded to you?

From my experience and the type of residencies that I have attended, they have a bigger influence on the work than on the career. They give you a great opportunity to travel but mostly a window of time in which the only thing to think of and focus on is the art practice.

There are many types of art residencies; either you have many artists at once in a large facility like the Banff Center in Canada, or a single artist is given a studio in a remote place. The only residencies that I attended are of the later. They obviously didn’t help me networking but they gave me the occasion to fully concentrate on my work without internet, phone or the pressure of the art world.

I did a residency, offered by the Brucebo Foundation, where I was awarded a studio on Gotland Island in the middle of the Baltic Sea for 3 months with nothing else to do but paint and take long walks. It had a big impact on my practice since this is where I started to focus on the many possibilities of doing landscapes. Without the residency, I probably would not be showing with the Luminous Landscape collective in parallel to this conference.

Photo: Yechel Gagnon

Questions from the audience:

There were many questions, here are a few...

What was the impact of the recession on your art practice and career over the last years?

The recession happened right when I was about to increase my prices. I obviously couldn't do it, so it did have an impact. I had solo exhibitions that did not sell like it should have, so it did have an important economical impact. The place where it didn't affect me is in my studio practice. I had galleries who wanted smaller size paintings as it was easier for them to sell. Other galleries wanted large-scale paintings as they brought in more money for each sale. I just kept doing what I do and dispatched the work to the galleries. We do have a strange life; the more we work the more we spend.

Have you decided to start doing encaustic monotypes because of economical reasons associated or not with the recent recession?

No. I have always loved works on paper, encaustic is my medium of predilection so ever since I heard about encaustic monotypes - which was prior to the recession - I had wanted to explore this technique. The fact is that in order to show works on paper in galleries, they need to be framed and lots of clients are reluctant to buy and hang works framed with a glass. There are other ways of framing monotypes but they tend to loose the beautiful fragility of the paper that I love. Therefore, it is not because they are smaller and less expensive that they are necessarily easier to sell. I have galleries who want them and others who don't and this emphasizes the importance of having different types of galleries. I do them because I love to do them.

Are there stigmas associated to the fact of showing in a co-op gallery?

I believe there is a stigma with anything we do in the art world. Let's decide that we don't care and just do what we have to do.

Encaustic Monotype

2010-06-07T16:33:00.023-04:00

Alexandre Masino

Êtres de Jade I, 2010

Encaustic monotype on Kozo paper

13” x 20” / 33 x 51 cm

During the First Annual Encaustic Painting Conference in 2007, I attended Paula Roland's presentation on Encaustic Monotype and I was hooked right away on the idea of exploring this unique technique. My head was spinning with the possibilities and the different series I would develop with this approach. It took me a few years to get to it as I was busy working on different exhibitions. Finally, this year I tackled the project and it is now my pleasure to post this long article on the subject.

Before going into details, I have to thank Paula Roland for sharing her knowledge and for devoting a lot of energy into teaching and promoting Encaustic Monotype. Without attending her different demos at the conference over the last 3 years, all what you are about to read would not have happened. I strongly believe in sharing the different techniques we develop and I truly don't think it is to our advantage to keep for ourselves any tricks, thinking they make us unique and guarantee even a small place in the art world.

More than fifteen years ago, my mother, the flutist Gisèle Millet, was organizing weeklong master classes with New York based flutist Robert Dick. He is an amazing composer, musician and a true pioneer in developing new ways of flute playing. It is by attending his concerts and master classes that I became truly convinced that knowledge is made to be taught and shared.

Robert Dick, photos by Reggie Morrow and Anibal Pella

Encaustic Monotype:

Encaustic monotype is a contemporary medium combining the ancient art of encaustic painting with the general concept of monotype. This technique was innovated by New Orleans' artist Dorothy Furlong Gardner, who first showed an Encaustic Monotype in 1980. In 1991 she was awarded a grant by Daniel Smith to publish her process in Inksmith, a printmaking newsletter. To read more about the development of this technique and her own technical advices please consult her website.

The basic elements of this technique are simple: paint with encaustic sticks on a hot plate in order to transfer the image on paper. Since the plate is hot, the medium remains fluid and does not dry instantly as in traditional encaustic. This simple fact allows us to easily transfer the image on paper and to repeat the process until we obtain the desired result.

In this technique there are many different variables to play with (or curse against) while we work :

1. The paint sticks are made with pigment, dammar resin and beeswax. The pigment density must be much higher than in usual encaustic paint because in this case, the paint is applied really thinly.

2. The heat of the table must be between 70°C to 95°C (160°F to 200°F). Depending on the heat, the wax will react differently and create various effects.

3. The type of paper used and its absorption quality makes a huge difference in the result. I love to work with really thin paper, Japanese Kozo paper is what I have been using and I'm presently researching various types of Japanese paper.

This technique is easy enough to produce a result; it is a different story to obtain the result you are looking for. Here's my setup and ways of working…

The heating table (hot box):

The first step to explore this technique is to purchase or build a hot plate. It must be completely flat and you have to be able to precisely control the temperature. Paula Roland is selling hot boxes through her website and this year she will even sell them in the vendors room at the conference. Personally, I have built myself a table last summer; it is time an energy consuming but now I have the advantage of working on a table that truly suits my needs. The concept is simple; light bulbs (100 watts) linked to a dimmer incased in an isolated wooden box heating an anodized aluminum plate. It is obviously crucial to think of fire hazards while building such equipment; get proper isolated electric wires and ceramic light fixtures.

My table is rather large so I have 8 light bulbs heating the surface, separated on two different dimmers. On the edge of my table I have put a thin rim in order to clamp down my papers and make sure they remain registered for each passage. The way I work is to tape my Kozo paper onto larger Newsprint, which allows me to work in the center of the plate.

The Encaustic sticks:

Ever since I started to paint with encaustic, I have made my own paint and medium. The paint sticks needed for monotypes are basically the same; beeswax, dammar and pigment. The crucial difference is that the density of pigment has to be much higher. I'm not giving formulas since each pigment reacts differently and the amount needed varies accordingly. I'm a big believer in the importance of knowing your medium, feeling it and understanding it from within. Safety issues also need to be high on your list, knowing what we work with includes knowing their level of health hazards. When working with any type of fine dust, wear a proper respirator. As an example, I will just mention that one of the first signs of poisoning yourself with dry pastel dust is depression. If you are using them and feel down after producing a show, it may not only be the post-partum effect….

To produce proper encaustic sticks we need molds. You can make your own molds (for Dorothy Furlong Gardner techniques, click here), use bread stick molds or even use long ice cube silicone molds. From my experience, the problem with those is that the edges of the sticks are going to be a bit sticky and porous. Before undertaking my production of paint sticks I did research, seeking the best solution for this matter from different friends working with metal, to advert shoppers, to people working in restaurants. That's when Vincent Deshaies proposed to lend me a crayon mold. He is the owner of Kama Pigments, where I buy all my raw materials. I deeply thank him, the results I have been getting with this is absolutely great. They are time consuming to produce and to unmold but I am not making large quantities, so I am a happy man.

The advantage of using crayon shaped sticks is that you can use the point for fine mark making and the side to cover large areas. Next to my hot plate, I have cans of molten wax in which I have warm brushes to do touch ups or add a different type of mark.

Alexandre Masino

Vagues de pierres I, 2010

Encaustic monotype on Kozo paper

10” x 31.5” / 25.5 x 80 cm

Evans Encaustics are richer in pigment than other manufactured paint. They are produced in order to add medium to them accordingly to our needs. For encaustic monotypes, this could be an alternative to making your own paint from dry pigments.

The great advantage of the monotype is the constant fluidity of the wax and the possibility to work substractively. In order to do this I use rags, paper towels but mostly the rubber tools sold for acrylic paint. With these I achieve negative lines and I can rework the contour of a shape when needed. Any tool that won’t scratch your aluminum plate will work.

In order to rub the paper on the plate, I use a Speedball baren or a rustic Japanese bamboo one. To keep it clean as much as possible, place aluminum fold over the surface so the wax doesn't get through it.

These are basically the tools I use. R&F Paints is selling a thermometer that can be placed on your hot plate to display the accurate temperature. You may also use a laser thermometer to know the actual temperature of all your components. Personally, I don't like to ask myself what the numbers should be when I work... By looking at how the wax reacts on the plate and by putting my hand close to the surface, I can feel my way through. Sometimes the plate is too hot and it is important to allow air to flow under it to cool it down. On the other hand, if the plate is not hot enough you need to increase the light intensity.

All my monotypes are created with many passages; I will paint on the plate and apply the paper at least six times if not more. They are thin layers and do not always cover the entire paper. The important thing is to make sure that the paper is not over saturated with the wax. Just like when I'm painting, I usually start with the background and work my way through the representation of the subject, the details, and then rework the image as a whole.

Alexandre Masino

Brumes lumineuses I, 2010

Encaustic monotype on Kozo paper

13” x 20” / 33 x 51 cm

There are a few difficult aspects of doing representation with Encaustic Monotype. There is obviously the fact that all the mark makings are reversed and the problem of knowing precisely where to paint on the plate, in correspondence to where the paper will fall. After the paper is applied for the first time, the "ghost image" remains somewhat visible on the aluminum plate. This is really useful in adding information to the print and making sure the new marks end up at the right place. Other times, I wipe out the remain image completely to produce new, clean and vibrant colors. When I do wipe off the plate and want to verify that everything re-aligns, I sometimes use a stencil cut out in Newsprint. They are not precise as the wax may disperse but with some tweaking, they usually get the job done.

If Encaustic Monotype is of interest to you, Paula Roland has just recently released a two hour long DVD on the subject. You'll find the schedule of her master classes on her website and R&F Paints also offers encaustic workshops.

Alexandre Masino

Ce feu du soir II and Vers le soir I, 2010

Encaustic monotype on Kozo paper

11" x 17 / 28 x 43 cm

In the coming weeks, I am exhibiting encaustic monotypes in Oregon (see previous post), in Massachusetts (see previous post) and in a special event at the Molinari Foundation in Montréal. I am looking forward to creating new series with this specific technique for my upcoming solo exhibitions.

CRAP Generator

2010-06-05T14:40:00.005-04:00

C lick on the image above to print yourself a copy of the CRAP Generator,

the Critical Response to the Art Product.

In 1993, I attended Bella Rabinovitch's class on Canadian Contemporary Art at Concordia University in Montréal. This was an intense and challenging class that was extremely formative. Ms. Rabinovitch had acute knowledge of her subject and her analyses were sharp and original. I remember her use of Jerry Seinfeld's sitcom to illustrate in detail the complex notions of post-modernism. She was always providing tons of handouts, and the one that I always kept close by is the CRAP Generator, the Critical Response to the Art Product. This brilliant device is clever, funny and demonstrates that the use of jargon is not necessarily a sign of intelligence…. You can use this appropriately and actually say something or just use it to hide with authority that you don't have anything to say.

The Instant Art Criticism Phrase Generator

Pick at random any four-digit number, such as 8751, then read off phrase #8 of TABLE A, phrase #7 of TABLE B, and so on. The result is a CRAP (Critical Response to the Art Product) sentence. Add a few more four-digit numbers to make a CRAP paragraph. After you have mastered the basic technique, you can realize the full potential of CRAP by arranging the phrases in DACB order, BACD order, or ADCB order. In these advanced configurations, some additional commas may be required. Soon you can produce CRAP critiques as easily and fluently as anyone.

With this device you can write or speak about Art with both authority and confidence. You can amaze and confound both students and general audiences with ease.

TABLE A

For example
In this regard
Similarly
Academically speaking
In the broadest perspective
In particular
From an intellectual point of view
As a resultant implication
Based on current critical thinking
With respect to the communications objectives

TABLE B

a portion of the effective visual space
the positive-negative area counterbalance
the intrinsic tonal gradations
the independent functional principles
the underlying visual thrust
the spatial configuration concept
initiation of critical visual thinking
the characterization of specific ideas
a constant flow of visual information
the primary interrelationship between concept and technique

TABLE C

utilizes and is functionally inter-woven with
maximizes the probability of response and minimizes the ambiguity required for
adds explicit aesthetic limits to
sensitizes the viewer to feel
necessitates that urgent consideration be given to
is further expanded, when taking into account
presents extremely interesting challenges to
precludes any false manifestations of
effects a significant reaction to
adds overriding value constraint to

TABLE D

the sophisticated visual ideal
the facing of terrifying reality
the anticipated emotional and intellectual feelings
the evolution of subtle reactions
the total communications rationale
the philosophy of contemporary visualization
the active design elements
the extreme instances of misperception
the philosophical and theological goal
the existential principles of visual transfer

Fourth Annual Encaustic Conference

2010-05-31T16:21:00.011-04:00

Last year's panel, in which four museum conservators discussed the archival issues of wax and encaustic.

Photo : Jordan Elquist

Fourth Annual Encaustic Conference

Saturday Morning Panel :

Making a Career in Encaustic

June is now a milestone in my year as it is the fourth time in a row that I attend and teach at the Annual Encaustic Conference. For this edition, I have the pleasure to be invited by it's director, Joanne Mattera, to participate on the main panel. The discussion will evolve around the diverse aspects of having a career as an artist, more specifically artists working with encaustic. The practical aspects and the day to day chores of running a career are probably the most uncharted territory in Art Schools and Universities. We usually have to learn by guessing our way through or reading a few books on the subject. Fifteen years ago, I had the opportunity after graduating from University, to work numerous years as a studio assistant for several artists, mainly for Tom Hopkins. In many respects, this was way more formative than my school years and in times, it felt like I was doing a master degree. In addition, I worked for merely three years in a commercial gallery, where I was actively involved in most aspects of running such a business.

Our goal on this panel is to exchange as much information as possible, bouncing off ideas regarding the art career and the logistics involved. We will engage this panel as a discussion with the 250 participants attending. From what I saw in the previous years, I am sure we will have tons of comments, personal stories, questions and responses arising from the room, which should make the morning more than dynamic...

I will have the pleasure to share the panel with Elena De La Ville, Eileen Goldenberg, Barbara Moody and Jane Allen Nodine. Joanne Mattera will be the moderator and since she's the writer of the notorious Marketing Mondays, I'm sure she will have a lot to add to the conversation. For more information on this event and the panelists, please click here.

Luminous Layers

2010-05-31T15:32:00.007-04:00

Alexandre Masino

Les arabesques du temps I, 2010

Encaustic monotype on Kozo paper

11" x 17"

Luminous Layers;

Exploring Contemporary Encaustic

47th Annual

Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts

June 25, 26 & 27, 2010

Lake Oswego, Oregon USA

At the end of the month, I will be one of the featured artists in the group exhibition Luminous Layers, Exploring Contemporary Encaustic curated by Linda Womack. I am pleased to present in this event six still lifes from my first series of encaustic monotypes. The Festival draws an impressive 25,000 people and the featured artists form a dynamic group of encaustic painters and sculptors. For a list of all the artists and more information on the event please click here.

Alexandre Masino

De la lumière à la lumière I, 2010

Encaustic monotype on Kozo paper

11" x 17"

Luminous Landscape

2010-05-21T14:54:00.014-04:00

Invitation card designed by Linda Cordner

Luminous Landscape

June 1 to 30, 2010

Kensington Stobart Gallery

Salem, Massachusetts

Vernissage : June 10, 5 pm to 8 pm

Thanks to Julie Shaw Lutts the Luminous Landscape collective will show this coming June at The Kensington Stobart Gallery in Salem, MA, in parallel to the Fourth Annual Conference on Encaustic Painting. The collective comprises of 18 artists working with encaustic and the rich subject of landscape painting. This coming show is curated by Sandy Heaphy, gallery director at the Kensington Stobart Gallery, Julie Shaw Lutts, Linda Cordner, Janet Bartlett Goodman, and Charyl Weissbach. Last year, the collective published a beautiful intimate catalogue on our 2009 show; you can order it online here (see previous post).

Lindsay Bentis Alexandre Masino

Debra Claffey Catherine Nash

Linda Cordner Fawn Potash

Janet Bartlett Goodman Tracy Spadafora

Pamela Farrell Mary Taylor

Kimberly Kent Rodney Thompson

Dorothy Simpson Krause Charyl Weissbach

Maura Joy Lustig Gregory Wright

Julie Shaw Lutts Diane Bowie Zaitlin

For the first time, I will be showing some of my landscape Encaustic Monotypes. I worked and developed this technique over the winter and I will be posting very soon a long article on my approach of this amazing technique. I'm thrilled by this new avenue in my production since it combines my long lasting interest for works on paper and my devotion toward encaustic painting.

Alexandre Masino

Racines de nuages I, 2010

Encaustic Monotype on Kozo paper

13" x 20"

Alexandre Masino

Au gré du souffle I, 2010

Encaustic Monotype on Kozo paper

13" x 20"

Yechel Gagnon : Public Art

2010-02-01T17:46:00.000-05:00

Installation at Ville Sainte-Catherine's Library, Québec

Leclerc Architects

Program of Integration of Arts within Architecture

photo by Richard-Max Tremblay

For her fourth public art commission, Yechel Gagnon continues her research with materials by creating her own custom-made plywood. For this specific project, she has designed a panel of different layers of exotic wood consisting of tulipwood, maple, walnut, spruce and bloodwood. With her panoply of tools, she carves the surface unraveling her imagery oscillating between a pleiad of interpretations. The abstract composition may evoke worlds within worlds, imaginary landscapes, oneiric spaces, microscopic views, or a topographical map. The structure and the specific colours of Le courant de la mémoire create a dialogue with the architecture, inviting the viewer into a realm of contemplation and nuances.

Le Courant de la mémoire, 2009

Carved spruce, tulipwood, maple, walnut and bloodwood

241 x 178 cm & 241 x 18 cm / 95" x 70" & 95" x 7"

The fireplace becomes symbolic by its totemic scale. Since this structure is exposed on two sides, Gagnon has installed on its other side an architectural punctuation echoing the carved bas-relief using the same exotic wood. This assemblage echoes the stratification of plywood as well as evoking the numerous book edges found in the library. This minimalist element further creates a bridge between the carved plywood and the architectural elements of the library by underlying the visual importance of the wood beams visible on the ceiling.

Installation at Ville Sainte-Catherine's Library, Québec

photo by Richard-Max Tremblay

Installation at Ville Sainte-Catherine's Library, Québec

photo by Richard-Max Tremblay

In her previous public art project created for a professional woodworking school in Gatineau (Québec), Gagnon used different exotic woods. This time the lamination effect was integrated within the imagery. The contrast between the carved organic shapes and the geometry of the lines and the richness of all the colors and the specific grain of each wood created a striking effect.

Méridiens, 2009

Carved white maple and poplar plywood

Tulipwood, Lacewood, Bubinga , Cedar, Cumaru, East Indian Rosewood, Macassar Ebony, Okoume and Birmanie Teak

213 x 152 cm / 84" x 60"

Installed at Relais de la Lièvre-Seigneurie, Gatineau

Her upcoming projects include a research trip to Japan, a vital source of inspiration within her practice, and she was awarded a large commission for the Jean-de-Brebeuf College in Montreal. This new installation will consist of monumental frottage drawings in dialogue with a series of plywood bas-reliefs. Gagnon’s practice explores materiality, layering, architectural and natural spaces as well as integrating notions of oriental and occidental aesthetics. All of these elements are explored in her drawings, prints, inks, sculptures, and installations. Gagnon holds an M.F.A from Concordia University and an AOCAD with honours from the Ontario College of Art and Design. Yechel Gagnon is represented by the Moore Gallery in Toronto, Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art in Calgary and Spheris Gallery in New Hampshire. For more information on her work please visit her website.

For Yechel Gagnon's studio visit by Joanne Mattera in which you can see maquettes and works in progress please click here.

Quasar, Canadian tour

2010-01-24T21:17:00.000-05:00

Quasar, saxophone quartet

André Leroux, Mathieu Leclair, Marie-Chantal Leclair and Jean-Marc Bouchard

Quasar, the Montreal based saxophone quartet, is one of the best contemporary music ensemble I have heard. Their technical skills, energy and devotion conveyed in their interpretation of contemporary music transforms their concert in real uplifting experiences.

As stated in their press release:

"Ardent devotees of the music of our time, the Quasar saxophone quartet is dedicated to premiering and promoting contemporary music that is multi-dimensionally conceived. (...) Quasar explores different aspects of artistic creation from instrumental music to live electronics , from improvisation to instrumental theatre.

The quartet reserved pride of place for a number of Canadian composers, with whom it has formed solid partnerships. It aims to contribute to the development of our musical language and provide a platform for new music experiments, exploration and production. The quartet premiered over 50 works. At the same time, Quasar constantly seeks out new works on the international scene, which are frequently integrated in its repertoire."

They are now undertaking a Canadian Tour that maybe coming close to you. If you have the chance to attend one of their concerts, don't miss it! It truly brings a new light to contemporary music.

Canadian Tour

Quelques arpents de neige

January-February 2010

Victoria : January 28

Vancouver : January 29 and 30

Winnipeg : February 1st and 2nd

Calgary : February 3 and 4

Edmonton : February 6

Kitchener-Waterloo : February 12

Toronto : February 11 and 13

St. John's : February 17 and 18

In this video you can see an excerpt of Quasar performing Pulua Dewata by Quebec composer Claude Vivier.

Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts

2010-01-04T13:34:00.008-05:00

47th Annual

Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts

Event dates: June 25, 26 & 27 2010

Lake Oswego, Oregon USA

Next June the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts will present the exhibition Luminous Layers, Exploring Contemporary Encaustic. I had the pleasure to be invited by the curator Linda Womack to be one of the featured artist of this event. I will take this opportunity to exhibit encaustic monoprints for the first time. This new series will be posted later on. For your information, there will be a Juried Exhibit on encaustic works and the deadline is February 1st to send in your proposal. This Festival draws in an impressive 22-25,000 people and the featured artists form a dynamic and impressive group. Therefore this should definitely be an interesting event. For more information please click here.

Joanne Mattera in Brooklyn

2009-09-15T16:03:00.014-04:00

Joanne Mattera

Silk Road series installation wall

Photos courtesy of Joanne Mattera

I had the chance to see some of Joanne's new Silk Road paintings when she came to Montréal last August. I have always been keen to this series ever since I saw some at the Schlosberg Gallery at the Montserrat College of Art during the International Conference on Encaustic. Her new paintings are stunning. They evoke a meditative realm while calling the viewers attention to look, reflect and discover what lies within and beyond these layers. The edges are rich with vibrancy and can only be appreciated in the real. The relation of color and transparency found in these new works resonate with such complexity, that you become completely absorbed by these paintings. The series exhibited at Metaphor are done in a range of cooler tones echoing the element of water. If you are in the area, seeing the show in the flesh is a must, if you are not around New York check out Joanne's blog for more images of the show and installation shot of her paintings.

Joanne Mattera

Silk Road 116, 2009, Encaustic on panel 12"x12"

Photos courtesy of Joanne Mattera

Slippery When Wet

Metaphor Contemporary Art, Brooklyn

September 18-November 22

Opening Friday, September 18, 6:00-9:00 pm

Artists include :Suzan Batu, Susan Homer, Joanne Mattera, Nancy Manter,

Andrew Mockler, Don Muchow and Peter Schroth

Joanne Mattera's blog

2009-09-15T15:54:00.007-04:00

In mid-August, Yechel and I had the pleasure to welcome Joanne Mattera at our place. She stayed for a few days and we took the time to tour the city and visit many different exhibitions together. They were full pack days filled with strong shows and engaging conversations. This visit turned into two great posts on her blog. In the first one we read about different exhibitions that we visited and in the second she is giving a thorough visit of our studios. Her blog is really interesting and informative, covering a wide range of artistic practices and aspects. Reading her many different posts is definitely worth following.

www.joannemattera.blogspot.com

Yechel Gagnon's studio

Photo by Joanne Mattera

My working table with double-boilers

Photo by Joanne Mattera

Doug Scholes, residency project

2009-09-08T20:10:00.014-04:00

(Photos courtesy of Aamfgpr)

Acts applied mostly for good practical reasons (Aamfgpr) is Doug Scholes residency project hosted by the Southern Alberta Art Gallery (SAAG), Lethbridge, Alberta as part of the gallery’s series Into the Streets: Avenues for Art. The event takes place fromAugust 27th to September 26th, 2009 with a closing reception on September 26th @ 8:00 p.m.

(Photos courtesy of Aamfgpr)

I had the chance to see other installations and wax casted sculptures from Doug in different venues in Montreal that were very engaging. Due to my interest in his practice, I included his work in the conference I gave last June on Encaustic Still Lifes (see previous post). While introducing his work, there was a great response from the audience that furthered accentuated his compelling use of the medium. Doug's work evolves around the notion of maintenance and deterioration; his use of beeswax is completely relevant to his discourse.

If ever you are in the Lethbridge area, I strongly suggest you visit this ongoing project. If you are too far away, as I am, you may follow the evolutions of the pieces by checking his website. Go in the menu on the right for more images and information.

Third Annual Encaustic Conference

2009-09-08T15:04:00.020-04:00

In early June I presented a lecture on encaustic Still Life painting during the Third Annual Encaustic Conference at the Montserrat College of Art. My presentation consisted both of aesthetic and technical aspects. I introduced different artists working with wax either in painting or in sculpture and installation. The theme of my lecture focused on "Still-life" but I extended the definition by showing a variety of artists using the subject in a wide spectrum. The common thread between the artists was their use of wax either in the representation of an object or their use of the actual physical object. I also presented my own practice and different technical aspects of encaustic painting. I covered the nine years I've been working with the medium, showing the different studios I occupied, various ventilation systems and many different techniques from pure encaustic painting to mixed media.

My purpose is not to post my entire presentation as it was dense with information but rather to list the artists whom I presented with some links to their websites and their galleries. Within the coming weeks and months, I will be more active on my blog adding information, books and artists that inform my practice. The most important thing at the moment is to gratefully thank the artists who answered my different emails and gave me sufficient information on their production and provided me with images so I could present their work accurately.

Aganetha Dyck

Doug Scholes

Jill Douglas

Karin Wells

Kevin Frank

Michal Sagar

Ted Arnold

Tony Scherman

Luminous Landscape

2009-06-15T14:36:00.011-04:00

Exhibition catalogue

In June, I was part of a group show presented in parallel to the Third Annual Encaustic Conference at the Montserrat College of Art organized by the collective Luminous Landscape and curated by Linda Cordner, Janet Bartlett Goodman and Charyl Weissbach. The collective published a beautiful small catalogue in parallel to this event. It is a great purchase if you are interested in seeing many different avenues that encaustic is offering us in relation to the notion of nature and landscape. The book is well designed and offers good reproduction quality. You can order it directly from this site.

Alexandre Masino

Au gré du souffle, 2009

Encaustic on panel, 18" x 26"

Alexandre Masino

Écume de neige, 2009

Encaustic on panel, 18" x 26"

Exhibition by Yechel Gagnon

2009-03-30T16:48:00.011-04:00

Yechel Gagnon, Voyageurs, 2009, carved jequitiba plywood, 24" x 24"

If you're in the Toronto area during the month of April, Yechel Gagnon will be exhibiting her new plywood bas-reliefs in a solo show at the Moore Gallery. Her last show there was in 2004, so it will be interesting to see her latest developments with her signature production. This upcoming show has already great visibility since it will be featured on the front cover of Slate Magazine.

The gallery press release states "Gagnon's distinctive approach of materiality transforms plywood into a unique pictorial medium rich of its intrinsic layering. (...) In Vastness, she uses different plywood essences, such as Okoume and Jequitiba, in order to work with different colours and obtain a variety of contrast within each work... she incorporates for the first time the "lamination" of the plywood in the actual image making as a strong pictorial element. This new approach introduces geometrical elements to her compositions, enriching the carving vocabulary and bring forward the vast possibilities of the language she developed with her medium".

Geneviève Chevalier wrote in Documents exhibition essay of 2007 :

" Yechel Gagnon's work have an amazing evocative power. This is perhaps because they do not focus on singular association, but leave the door open to an entire series of associations which ripen in the mind of the beholder"

Alexandria Pierce wrote in Palimpsest exhibition essay of 2004:

"Gagnon's work is not an art of chance but one of precision, gradation and subtlety. Her employment of monochrome or very restrained hints of colour bears comparison to medieval Chinese aesthetics where poetry, calligraphy and painting were intended to inspire contemplation."

I obviously think it's worth visiting this exhibit!

Yechel Gagnon

Vastness

April 4-April 25, 2009

Vernissage: Saturday April 4, 2009

Moore Gallery

80 Spadina Ave, #404

Toronto, Ontario

www.mooregallery.com

www.yechelgagnon.com

Encaustic International Biennial

2009-03-19T00:30:00.015-04:00

Où se livrent les nuages, 2009, encaustic on panel, 14.5" x 21"

From March 29 to June 19, I will be part of the Encaustic Biennial organized by R&F Paints entitled Encaustic Works '09 that will take place at the Castle Gallery of College of New Rochelle in New York State.

This exhibition will definitely be a rare occasion to check out what's happening in the realm of encaustic painting. There are among 40 artists participating in the show, working in a wide variety of styles and using the medium in their own personal way. R&F Paints published for the occasion a thorough catalogue that you can order from them (click here).

If you are in the area, this show is not to be missed.

R&F present the Seventh International Biennial

Encaustic Works'09

Juried by Heather Hutchison

March 29- June 19, 2009

Opening: Sunday April 5, 2-4 pm

www.rfpaints.com

Group Show, Galerie de Bellefeuille

2009-03-09T12:38:00.012-04:00

From March 12 to 23, I will be part of a group show on landscape painting at Galerie de Bellefeuille, in Montreal. For this specific occasion, I have completed three large paintings pursuing my mountainscape series. The physicality of the paint is particularly important in these works due to their scale and treatment. Of course these images will only give you a small hint of their reality. I keep cursing against reproductions and their impossibility to convey what a painting is really about, but deep down I think it is a great thing a painting remains a unique object that has to be experienced in the flesh. Click on the images to have a better idea...

Où naissent les nuages, 2009, encaustic on panel, 40" x 60"

L'orée du ciel, 2009, encaustic on panel, 40" x 60"

Racines de Jade, 2009, encaustic on panel, 40" x 60"

Group Show, Conrad Wilde Gallery

2009-02-26T17:08:00.012-05:00

L'aube des lumières, 2008, Encaustic on panel, 16" x 23"

I'm glad to announce that I'm part of group show at the Conrad Wilde Gallery, in Tucson, Arizona, from March 7 to 28th. The show includes 20 artists working with encaustic and gives a great overview of the versatility of the medium. The gallery is publishing a beautiful and exhaustive catalogue of the event which is available through them. For a complete listing of the participating artists, please click here.

Fourth Annual Encaustic Invitational

The Conrad Wilde Gallery

210 N. 4th Ave

Tucson, Arizona, 85705

520-622-8997

Yechel Gagnon - Print

2009-02-26T17:07:00.008-05:00

Yechel Gagnon, Manifestation, 2008, digital print, 35" x 17.5"

Vantage Art Projects is excited to announce Manifestation by Yechel Gagnon as the sixth edition in the first FRESH PICKS volume! Manifestation is a digital work that was created during a residency at Sagamie, The National Research for the Contemporary Digital in Quebec and developed as an edition especially for FRESH PICKS.

About this edition, Gagnon states:

"This work is significant because it incorporates all the different facets of my work by creating a dialogue between my bas-reliefs, the drawings and prints but within the digital realm. This image consists of images of nature, integrated with my carved plywood textures and then I've digitally drawn over the images. This digital work becomes an extension to my practice and is the only one that exists of this series."

Manifestation is a unique opportunity to collect an image from Yechel Gagnon that is an exclusive release from her archive. To inquire abou this project, click here.

www.vantageartprojects.com

www.yechelgagnon.com

Paul Fenniak in New York

2009-02-23T22:06:00.017-05:00

Paul Fenniak, a good friend of mine, will be showing in New York in the coming weeks at the Forum Gallery. If you are in the area, this is really worth seeing. Paul's work, like all good paintings, most be seen in person to be truly appreciated. His handling of paint is rich and compelling, placing him among the best realist painters.

Paul Fenniak, Encounter, 2008-09, oil on canvas, 60 x 48 inches

Paul Fenniak, Encounter (detail), 2008-09

oil on canvas, 60 x 48 inches

Paul Fenniak

February 26 to April 11, 2009

Forum Gallery

745 Fifth Ave., 4th floor (just north of 57th street)