Click for more information on the Governor General’s Awards.

www.airdgallery.org

Click to view the Aird Press Release
Click to view the RCA PRINT 2012 Evite

I had the rare opportunity to hear René Rozon, founder of the Festival, speak at the University Club of Montreal.  Mr.Rozen is a world recognzied art and film critic and he entertained the audience with fascinating excerpts from some of the films that will show in this year’s festival which takes place from the 15^th to 25^th of March.  FIFA is unique in the world and features about 250 films on many different art forms. The festival, which lasts for 10 days, is held in various locations – Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Canadian Center for Architecture, Place des Arts, Concordia University, etc.

Here’s the link for more information: www.artfifa.com

The first concert was Iranian tar and sehtar improvisional music by Hossein Alizadeh –  a leading Iranian classical composer and musician. He is a virtuosic player of the six stringed Persion tar and the four stringed sehtar.  The second concert was right here in our McClure Gallery last Friday night – a cocktail hour performance of baroque cello duets by two amazing cellists with Arion Orchestre: Jaap ter Linden, a pioneer of early music who has played with the worlds finest orchestras and who is renowned for his interpretations of Bach’s Cello Suites along with one of his former students, Kate Bennett Haynes, an emerging musician who is pursuing a doctorate degree in Music at McGill.  The high wood ceiling and wood floor provide a remarkabe acoustic atmosphere.

I left both concerts full of inspirations for new paintings. But also returned home and looked up Whistler’s Nocturne in Blue and Gold, inspired by Chopin’s Nocturnes – just one example of this rich artistic interface.

The idea for Square Affair was inspired by AWOL Gallery’s annual Square Foot exhibition in Toronto. Their website shows people lined up down the street and around the corner waiting for the doors to open.  I never imagined we’d see that kind of turnout here but I was more than a little wrong.  Almost 400 people attended the gala event and they were lined up at the gallery door at 6 p.m., despite the lingering threat of freezing rain.

As anyone who has worked on fundraising events knows, success is measured in two ways.  The most obvious is the raising of funds and on that count it was one of the most successful fundraisers we’ve had. We cleared over $26,000. Most of that was from sales – a third of the artworks sold.  But we also had generous sponsorship – thanks to the efforts of our Board members – from Manulife Financial, Architem, Alcora and The Andy Adelson Fund of the Canadian Jewish Family Foundation. Not to mention Simply Wonderful whose food was ‘simply wonderful’ and who supported the event as a patron.

A special mention is due Pierre from Avenue des Arts – our local art supply store – who provided the square panels for free– one, two and three square feet.  It was a generous and gracious gesture that helped foster a sense of community around the event and of course, that is the second measure of success: building awareness of your institution and getting people involved.

Certainly, there was a very palpable sense of community in the air on opening night as you can see from the photos below.  This was the first time we had an “inclusive” fundraiser; not just teachers and artists but students were also invited to participate.  They wholeheartedly took up the cause, working diligently on their “squares” in class, at home, filling the gallery with inspired works.   This year the Centre marked its 65^th anniversary – it started in 1946 as a clay collective – and the value of inclusiveness which lies at the heart of our mandate was something we wanted to honour and celebrate.   It was truly heartwarming to see such an enthusiastic response and we thank everyone who participated in helping us surpass expectations.

Robert Thellier and friends

Victoria LeBlanc, Sandra Paikowsky and Dean Barrière

Nikola Reford and friends

On a final note, on behalf of all our staff, we wish you a Happy Holiday Season with family and friends and lots of inspired creativity for 2012.  And we hope to see you in January either in the gallery or in the studio, paintbrush in hand.

John Fox (b. 1927) lived and worked in Montreal, with lengthy annual visits to Venice, Italy from the mid 1970’s until his death there in 2008.  The artist was a mentor and friend to many artists in the Montreal community throughout his career.   In May 2012, Battat Contemporary Gallery, Montreal, will feature a selection of  John Fox’s abstract paintings. The exhibition will provide insights into the work that preceded the text and images in John Fox Refiguration.

John Fox: Refiguration is available at the McClure Gallery or through ABC Art Books Canada.  Limited copies are available.

First, the arts draw on a range of intelligences  – not just linguistic, logical and mathematical intelligences upon which most schools are based.  Arts education stimulates and develops the imagination. It refines cognitive, creative and critical thinking skills.  It strengthens problem solving.

Arts education heightens children’s self-esteem; it makes them feel good about what they have to say and how they say it.  It increases the motivation to learn, and also creates cultural and historical awareness.

Arts education teaches children life skills  – such as working co-operatively, articulating a vision, and thinking outside the box. Very importantly, children develop the ability to imagine what might be instead of only what is. A child begins with a blank piece of paper, adds a line, a colour, another line, another colour. Suddenly there is a house, a park, a community, two faces smiling at each other, holding hands, reaching for the sun. Out of nothing a child creates something.  This is a profoundly valuable habit of mind and imagination – the key to creating new solutions to old problems, to facing the many challenges of the future.

Art also promotes the idea that there is more than one solution to a problem, more than one answer to a question. It therefore nurtures experiences of tolerance and empathy. While in math, 2 and 2 will forever equal 4, in art, in painting for instance, red, yellow and blue equal as many responses as there are children in the class and every single response is correct and it is good and it is deemed worthy. When a child paints a picture, molds a shape out of clay, they are developing their understanding of what it means to be human, they are learning to make meaning of their world and of themselves.

All these most fundamental skills nourished at a young age have profound effects on them as adults, regardless of the vocation a child might choose.  This is some of the most surprising research for those who think that we must choose between science and art.

Finally of course, there is the element of joy – there is joy, fun, passion, creative fulfillment and a sense of personal freedom in making art.  It is the kind of learning we must always safeguard.

What I love about these drawings is the fluidity of the water medium contrasted with the underlying linear structure. Michael tells a great story about when he was younger doing renovation work, he’d often use a “chalk line” to lay down a straight line, for instance, on drywall. He loved the way he’d pluck the string and the chalk line would suddenly appear and wondered how he could use it artistically.  He’s used the tool here to lay down a taut line in a rich ultramarine blue with washes of black ink flooding over and around the lines in watery pools to create a sense of space, depth but also a kind of dream-like movement.

We’ve co-published with Galerie Roger Bellemare, a catalogue with over 40 reproductions of Michael’s works – including the paintings in the Museum.  Just have our fingers crossed it arrives on time for the opening!!!!