For Curtains Up by Samantha Wexler There is scaffolding up along the sides of select buildings just east of St Laurent near and behind Les Foufounes Électriques between St Dominique and St Elizabeth.. Many of these walls have been painted black in anticipation for this weekend. Now, there is a distinct scent […]
Fine Arts
18th Annual Under Pressure Festival – August 10-11, 2013
For Curtains Up by Samantha Wexler This week kicks off a series of events affiliated with Under Pressure and Fresh Paint Gallery. First there is the Beaux Dégâts event on Wednesday August 7th at 7pm at Foufounes Électriques ($5 cover charge). Beaux Dégâts is an event where six teams will […]
FRINGE FESTIVAL 2013
I must admit, I’m behind the eight ball on Montreal’s Fringe Festival. Before Monday’s media call at Les Katacombes bar, I had heard of the Festival, but I didn’t really know what it was all about, having spent most of the past 20 summers or so in the Laurentians. Knowing what I know now, I […]
Autorretrato – Maria Pagés Compañía
By Rik Roe for Curtains Up A last minute gift from a co-worker of my better-half, Fiona, resulted in a gift that kept on giving. Taking place at our very own Place des Arts, we took a 90-minute long visual and auditory voyage with the talents of the Maria Pagés Compañía presentation, “Autorretrato”; a self-portait […]
Bringing ‘inspiration’ back
Is ‘inspiration’ becoming such a nauseatingly cliché word, that people now avoid using it at any and all costs? We see today’s artists visibly cringe and wince at the question; “What inspires you?” as though they’re being forced to divulge a raunchy, taboo fantasy to Joan Rivers on national TV. To many, using the word in interviews or polite dinner conversation to […]
Essential tips and tools for enjoying PERU: Kingdoms of the Sun and the Moon
Don’t wait until the last weekend of the exhibit (June 16th) to visit Peru; Kingdoms of the Sun and the Moon at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The last week of any exhibit is always wildly chaotic, and I, for one, don’t appreciate being in hour-long lines that force me to ‘go with […]
PAINTING FOR BEAUTY
What I like most about artist Susan Pepler is that she is thoughtful. Not in the ‘how may I be of service to you’ kind of way (although she is the nicest person you’ll ever meet), but in how she considers the elements of her art in a profound manner. It is rare to encounter […]
Travelling to ‘Loriville’ is a surreal, incandescent voyage
If you balled-up Frida Kahlo’s painting style, Andy Warhol’s penchant for pop culture and Betsey Johnson’s flair for all things colorful & eclectic…artist Lori Seguin would roll out into the room, all purple retro glasses, red curls and funky attire. As Lori guided me through her process of inspiration, she candidly expressed that depression was the […]
NO THORNS ON THESE ROSES…LOCAL ARTISTS BUILD A BUSINESS ON ETERNAL BOUQUETS
“I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.” ~Claude Monet What initially struck me as I walked into the Painted Bouquet studio was the homey, intimate space that is created for in-house artists and clients alike. The gleaming hardwood floors and old warehouse […]
SEEING RED – AT THE SEGAL
Red, written by author John Logan, is a tour de force that begs the question, do all good artists have to suffer tragic lives to be successful? Picasso, Pollock, Van Gogh, Caravaggio, all suffered through their art.The answer is, they must, of course. Except, according to Mark Rothko, “Rothko”.