Entrelacs Gallery Exhibit

Nikola Röthemeyer - photo by Victoria Shinkaruk
Nikola Röthemeyer - photo by Victoria Shinkaruk

A trip to any contemporary art gallery is always a new experience. Since it opened its doors in 1988, Galerie Trois Points’ mission was to enhance the national and international recognition of a group of contemporary artists.

Nikola- Röthemeyer - photo by Victoria Shinkaruk
Nikola- Röthemeyer – photo by Victoria Shinkaruk

It is now proud to present Entrelacs, an exhibition of six artists from Canada and Europe that started on July 5th and will go on until August 23rd 2014 on the 5th floor of 372 Ste-Catherine O. Montreal.

As you walk into the gallery, you notice that a subtle incompleteness is what unites the pieces and lures the viewer for the search of greater detail. Although united by this exhibition, each artist has a unique past and a unique technique.

Elmyna Bouchard creates her art with small stamps composed of everyday life objects forming a texture like composition with white spaces on the inside which appear as holes, her predominant theme for this exhibition. Natalie Reis is a figurative artist, interested in experimenting with techniques such as layering of materials, colors and symbols that combine in a composition frozen in motion opening a discussion about topics such as feminism, motherhood and the like. The first two artists mentioned are represented by the gallery, and the next four are its honorable guests.

Elmyna Bouchard - photo by Victoria Shinkaruk
Elmyna Bouchard – photo by Victoria Shinkaruk

Marie-Claude Bouthillier uses repetition to create a sense of the material or texture and bright colors communicating stealth and motion all at once. Martinet & Texereau is a collective of two French artists working together since 2008. They break the notion of drawing as a solitary practice and tear the link between the art piece and its creator by offering duality in the process. Nikola Röthemeyer introduces the sense of incompleteness for the purpose of depicting duality and allowing the viewer to apply their imaginative minds. Finally, Julie Ouellet incorporates nodes, cul-de-sacs and entanglements into a complicated series of labyrinth resembling pieces.

Marie-Claude Bouthillier photo by Victoria Shinkaruk
Marie-Claude Bouthillier photo by Victoria Shinkaruk

The artists tell us that what seems to be unfinished from far can be incredibly complete from up close. An almost hypnotizing power of each piece pulls you in once your eye lands on it. Whether intentional or not, the artists succeeded at engaging the viewer at a very intimate level. While surrounded by many, you find yourself alone with the painting and the author behind it.
It is a part of human nature to be subjective, and that is why we form the strongest bond with artwork that is capable of resonating with our deepest emotion. One particular artist charmed me. Through her stamping technique, Elmyna Bouchard created patterns from our routine, repetition and worry. By leaving holes, she breaks through the mundane into the spiritual and emotional inner self.

Julie Ouellet  Noeud Full photo by Victoria Shinkaruk
Julie Ouellet Noeud Full photo by Victoria Shinkaruk

As I was walking through the exposition, admiring all of the pieces, my eyes inevitably stopped on one of her works. When seen from far you absorb the whole and notice the texture, and when you come closer and start to notice the detail of each stamp you become aware of the hole in the center of the piece. At that moment, the details merge into one representing the routine and its worrisome nature and move to the background while the white space in the center becomes your only focus.

Nikola Röthemeyer, a German artist who offers a similar concept in her artwork, also caught my attention. Again, by looking incomplete from far, her pieces invite you to become aware of an incredible amount of detail present in her work that appeared unfinished from distance.

Julie Ouellet  Noeud Full photo by Victoria Shinkaruk
Julie Ouellet Noeud Full photo by Victoria Shinkaruk

Pablo Picasso once said that Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. These six international artists combined their work into Entrelacs Exhibition by experimenting with a variety of techniques and materials and now offer an incredible collection of pieces that are so different yet mirror one another in their goal of engaging the creative mind of the viewer.

Entrelacs, is a unique art exhibition featuring six artists from Canada and Europe that started on July 5th and will go on until August 23rd.