Joe Lima The Edge of the Infinite

Gallery Tour with the Artist: Thursday September 6 at 5 pm
Vernissage: Thursday September 6 at 6 pm
Thematic Workshop: Saturday September 8, 9:30 am – 4 pm
Exhibition: September 7 to 29

The McClure Gallery’s 2018-2019 season begins with The Edge of The Infinite, an exhibition of established artist, Joe Lima. In the last several years Lima has been focusing on woodcuts. In the beginning stages of work, he collects numerous drawings and photos from personal and historical sources. He examines each drawing and photo for particular lines and shapes he is interested in. The next stage of work is to unravel the cluster of imagery and create an intricate weaving of light and dark patterns on the woodblock surface. In The Edge of the Infinite, Lima will exhibit the woodblocks themselves alongside a variety of prints.

In his work, Joe Lima focuses on creating images that emphasize an intrinsic uncertainty, a longing for something hidden and unattainable in structures, landscapes, and interior spaces. He strives to explore imagery that reveals unknown aspects of the outer world and in turn unlocks a door of secrecy and mystery. In each of his environments he reinterprets the imagery by adding something that changes the spatial structure, creating an ambiguous and hallucinatory setting. Lima’s images consist of large architectural spaces, microscopic environments, and boundless areas.

For Joe Lima, what is important in the work is to develop a thematic tension in spaces both internal and external and to disrupt the natural pattern of things. This produces a plurality of meaning that can distract or enhance our curiosity. It is the transformation of the recognizable to the unusual – a deviation from the norm, giving an image the breath of the surreal.

With Joe Lima’s exhibition, we are also introducing a new series of workshops within our School of Art in collaboration with the Gallery. The objective of the workshop series, in continuity with our educational mandate, is to create an even stronger link between our student community, the wider Montreal community, and our exhibiting artists. A woodblock printing workshop, which will use the exhibition as a source of inspiration, will be held on September 8, 9 am to 4 pm (registration is required).

JOE LIMA is a painter, sculptor, and printmaker who was born in Azores, Portugal in 1963. He works and lives in Montreal and is represented by Galerie Nicolas Robert. Lima studied visual arts at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario, and at Concordia University in Montreal, where he received his B.F.A. He has been exhibiting his work since 1986 in museums and galleries across Canada, the US, and Europe. Joe Lima’s works can be found in major collections in Quebec and Europe, including the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec; Collection Prêt d’oeuvres d’art, Musée du Québec; Battat Contemporary in Montreal; in Portugal at Arquipélago – the Centro de Artes Contemporáneas, and Museu de Angra do Heroísmo.