OPENING: Unique Montreal nonprofit Espace Verre marks 20th graduating class with exhibition

Work by Roxane Dupuis. courtesy: espace verre: michel dubreuil

A year-and-a-half ago, Montreal’s Espace Verre unveiled its newly renovated space in Downtown Montreal. That space, with its enlarged gallery and boutique, became a primary venue for demos and lectures at the 2010 Glass Art Association of Canada conference and Montreal’s year-long celebration titled “City of Glass.” Espace Verre follows that flurry of activity with an exhibition that marks an important milestone for the non-profit: a gallery exhibit honoring the work of its twentieth graduating class. In addition to its role as a vital nonprofit open-access center for artists working with glass, Espace Verre is an accredited institution of higher learning and has steadily groomed degreed graduates for two decades.

A work by Carine Ledoux. courtesy: espace verre: michel dubreuil

The multi-faceted non-profit, whose range of services include teaching glass art, promoting glass through their gallery and sales, and providing studio and equipment rentals to professional glass artists, opened its doors to the Montreal glassblowing community in 1983. Six years later the began offering courses as Quebec’s first (and still only) accredited glass art program. Twenty years after the graduation of their first class, Espace Verre opens their new exhibit, “S’exposer” Thursday, May 26^th. The exhibition, which runs through September 9^th, features the work of the six graduates from their Fine Crafts college degree—glass option program, which is given in collaboration with the Institut des métiers d’art and Cégep du Vieux Montréal.

Work by Marythee Joncas-Daigle. courtesy: espace verre: michel dubreuil

For the six women representing Espace Verre, this opening is the culmination of three years’ worth of work in classes that range from flame working and glassblowing to technical drawing and modeling to running a glass studio and developing a glass production enterprise. They all learned and practiced their craft together, and while each owns a unique perspective and approach, these six Quebecois share similar concerns (both aesthetic and social) that manifest themselves in their work.

Work by Hadashah Hetu. courtesy: espace verre: michel dubreuil

Marythee Joncas-Daigle allows her emotions and interpersonal exchanges to shape and inform her work. Using graphite or enamels to sketch out characters, she then uses glass to transform and enlarge those characters through the process of blowing. Stefanie Marquis, whose work tends to revolve around sensuality with hearts (both whole and broken) as the go to image, studied architecture and interior design for several years before turning her attention to glassblowing, and that training comes through in her art as her pieces evoke an almost furniture-like utilitarianism. Carine Ledoux uses her artwork to explore themes of being a woman in the world, from depictions of bodies to anxieties. Her visual motif draws significant inspiration from old photographs and artifacts, drawing attention to these issues’ place in historical and contemporary contexts. Hadashah Hétu, who has previous formal training in visual arts, explores the incorporation of the written word into her glass pieces, which pay special attention to varying degrees of opacity and classic, contoured shapes. Isabelle Ostiguy trains her focus on issues of color and opacity. Using assembled parts to create a unified whole she explores the contrast and relationship between glass objects, their colors and shapes. Roxane Dupuis, with inspiration found in nature and an eye for the satirical, will showcase a “flock” of urban sheep.

--Jason Guiterrez

IF YOU GO:

“S’EXPOSER | Works from the 20th Class of Graduates“
May 26th through September 9th, 2011
Opening reception: May 26th, 6:30 PM