New exhibition
Starting April 20, 2023
QUÉBEC CITY, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ - Starting April 20, 2023, the exhibition Us, which stems from an outstanding collective effort led by the mediation team, in collaboration with the exhibition and conservation teams of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ), will present a multitude of converging views of oneself, the other, and us. From their time of birth, human beings assume different forms of "us," whether a family, a culture, a nation, or a generation, which can be viewed through the prism of art.
A philosophical approach
In its ongoing quest for innovative practices to offer different and, above all, meaningful experiences to the public, Us hinges on a philosophical approach on which Lynda Champagne, a philosophy consultant, has collaborated. The new exhibition at the MNBAQ is meant to be a unique philosophical voyage devoted to the notion of "us" and focusing on the themes of identities, migrations, and territories. It thus offers a different path to examining the artworks from the MNBAQ's collections by navigating through major themes related to contemporary society and people.
Visitors who discover the 69 works presented can enjoy answering the philosophical questions that the works raise. The voyage, which is at once playful, emotional and, indeed, critical, is accessible to everyone and should enable visitors to assemble, reflect, and marvel, but, above all, to be open to the world.
Three sweeping, universal themes
Identities
Marie-Claude Pratte's Portraits de société (1999–2000) is central to the reflection surrounding the exhibition's genesis. It comprises 50 little pictures representing stereotypes of different actors in society. It enables visitors to reflect on or broach current issues such as caricature and the impact of prejudices on society and to arouse extensive universal questioning.
To this series of paintings has been added a vast selection of works from the MNBAQ's collections by Jori Smith, Mimi Parent, Sam Borenstein, Jean–Baptiste Roy-Audy, John Heward, Raphaëlle de Groot, Françoise Sullivan, Manuel Mathieu, Manasie Maniapik, Regilee Piungituq, Eddy Firmin and Alfred Pellan, produced by artists who also wonder about the theme of identity. This unique collection raises vital questions: "What defines me?" "What is identity?" "What would we be without other people?"
Migrations
The exhibition reveals another extremely topical question, i.e., forced or voluntary massive population shifts. Works from the MNBAQ's collection by Jinyoung Kim, Pitseolak Ashoona, Davidialuk Alasua Amittu, Couturier–Lafargue, and Ari Bayuaji examine this sensitive topic. The works raise a number of highly relevant questions: "What is being 'at home' for a nomad?" "What conditions would govern a successful exile?" "How does the territory influence the culture that inhabits it?"
Territories
Lastly, the themes of the territory and its inhabitants naturally round out the exhibition. "How do human beings, animals, and vegetation share real or imaginary territories and what relationships exist between them?" "What is the human being's place in nature?" "Where does the territory that I inhabit and that inhabits me start and end?" Several works, ranging from Théophile Hamel's 19th-century painting Adolphe, Auguste, Eugène et Alphonse Hamel, neveux de l'artiste, to Caroline Elijassiapik's delicately woven sand ryegrass basket produced between 1970 and 1990, to Jean Paul Riopelle's Sans titre (1992) with its emblematic symbols, encourage reflection on these intriguing questions.
The MNBAQ's rock stars
To enrich the selection, which assembles works from all periods in the MNBAQ's collections (ancient, modern, and contemporary art), Us includes several inescapable works that are popular with the public at large but also those that promote an array of activities for school groups during the construction of the future Riopelle Space.
These include: Marc Aurèle– Fortin's L'Orme à Pont-Viaux (1928), Jean Paul Riopelle's Sans titre (1992), Jean Dallaire's Le Coq licorne (1952), Fernand Leduc's L'Alpiniste (1957), Alfred Pellan's Conciliabule (1945?), and David Altmejd's The Quail (2008), to mention but a few.
Pellan, the seminal artist of recognition for the Fondation du MNBAQ
Us also enables the Fondation du Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec to acknowledge the donors who made an outstanding contribution to financing the Pierre Lassonde Pavilion. These philanthropists, who sponsored artworks at the MNBAQ, are the mainstays of the Coup de cœur fundraising campaign. They were honored in the exhibition Le Rêveur éveillé devoted to Alfred Pellan from 2014 to 2022 in the Charles Baillairgé Pavilion and will now be recognized in a section of the exhibition devoted to the artist.
To this end, 30 works by Pellan have been assembled, including Girouette (circa 1975), a sculpture that the artist constructed and painted, which he installed on the roof of his house around 1975 and the MNBAQ acquired in 2006.
A selection of 16 masks displaying vivid colours and striking motifs related to the presentation of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, which was put on again in 1968 at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde in Montréal and the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris in Paris, is also presented.
Lastly, 10 mobiles from the Satellite series comprising an assembly of sundry objects sprayed with silver paint round out this area. The works permanently revolved in Pellan's studio.
Exploration in the workshop space
A special space was created for school and cultural activities when the Us exhibition was elaborated. Artist Claudie Gagnon's Lustre (2008) illuminates the room.
Somewhat like a blank page, this 60-seat space will serve as a laboratory for the cultural mediation team to explore a myriad of activities. For example, a big white wall in the room could briefly become an exhibition space to showcase the work that visiting students produce during creative workshops at the MNBAQ.
Moreover, the MNBAQ will welcome school groups starting May 1, 2023. Three school visits have been elaborated to satisfy the needs of different age groups: Ma première visite au Musée (nursery school to Grade 1), Complètement bête (Grades 2 to 6), and Portrait de société (Secondary I to V). Several hundred groups visit the MNBAQ each year, thus enabling thousands of young people to encounter art.
Credits
Nous is an exhibition organized by the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec.
Curatorship
Valérie ALLARD
Manager, School Programs
Maude LÉVESQUE
Curator of Exhibitions
Coordination
Eve-Lyne BEAUDRY
Curator of Contemporary Art (1950-2000)
Management
Marie-Hélène Audet
Head of Mediation
Yasmée Faucher
Head of Museography
Catherine GAUMOND
Head of Collections
Isolda GAVIDIA
Registrar
Didactic Texts
Valérie ALLARD
Manager, School Programs
Lynda CHAMPAGNE
M.A. in Philosophy
Design and Graphic Design
Marie-France GRONDIN
Designer
Gallery Mediation
Valérie ALLARD
Manager, School Programs
Andréanne LESAGE
Manager, Adults Programs
The MNBAQ and its Foundation would like to express a thank you the Caisse de dépôt et de placement du Québec for its commitment to supporting the Museum's educational programs. The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is an MNBAQ education ambassador.
The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec is a state corporation funded by the Gouvernement du Québec.
Us
Pierre Lassonde Pavilion
Starting April 20, 2023
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