the fragmentation of painting or the art of associations

DANIEL BRAULT

THE FRAGMENTATION OF PAINTINGOr the Art of Associations

Mémoire présentéà la Faculté des études supérieures de l'Université Lavaldans le cadre du programme de maîtrise en Arts Visuels

pour l'obtention du grade de Maître es Art (MA)

ECOLE DES ARTS VISUELSFACULTÉ D'AMÉNAGEMENT, ARCHITECTURE ET ARTS VISUELS

UNIVERSITÉ LAVALQUÉBEC

2006

© Daniel Brault, 2006

Ars longa, vitae brevis.

Il

RESUME

Depuis plusieurs années, il est possible de constater des changements majeurs dans

l'approche des artistes pratiquant la peinture. Si la pensée moderniste n'est plus, on

réalise toutefois que certaines notions y sont toujours. En effet, le post-modernisme

n'a peut-être pas fait table rase comme nous aurions pu l'envisager. Ainsi, qu'en est-

il de la pratique de la peinture aujourd'hui? Ce texte tente d'illustrer certaines

stratégies employées dans ma pratique de la peinture qui en quelque sorte

démontrent comment passé et présent sont toujours inter-reliés. Faisant référence à

des notions telles que la citation, l'hybridation, l'hétérogénéité et la multiplicité, ce

travail tente d'élaborer une réflexion sur les enjeux de ma pratique. Posant à la fois

une réflexion sur la nature même de la peinture et sur l'espace qu'elle occupe dans

le lieu d'exposition, j'aimerais proposer par cet essai une introspection sur les

questions et les découvertes qui animent ma recherche en création.

(Il

TABLE DES MATIERESPAGE

PRÉFACE V

ILLUSTRATIONS VI

INTRODUCTION 1

1. CHAPITRE 1 : BUILDING BRIDGES: THE ART OF ASSOCIATIONS 3

1.1 CITATION, APPROPRIATION AND PLURALISM 5

1.2 BEYOND APPROPRIATION 10

2. CHAPITRE 2 : THE PAINTINGS AND THEIR ORIGINS 14

2.1 THE NOTION OF HYBRIDIZATION AND HETEROGENEITY 15

2.2 PAINTING'S SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS 18

2.3 THE IDEA OF SIMULACRUM 22

3. CHAPITRE 3: RECONSIDERING PAINTING: A DISPLACEMENT OFCONVENTIONS? 24

3.1 THE NOTION OF AUTHORSHIP 26

3.2 HANGING STRATEGIES 28

3.3 SINGULARITY VS MULTIPLICITY: TWO EXPERIENCES OF PAINTING 30

CONCLUSION 32

TABLE DES ILLUSTRATIONS 33

BIBLIOGRAPHIE 35

IV

PREFACE

Even though my mother tongue is French, I hâve decided to write this essay in

English. It occurred to me while I started writing this essay that it simply made more

sensé to write in English since my previous studies were made in this language.

More specifically, I hâve learnt the language of my craft (painting) at Champlain

Collège and Concordia University, which are both English schools.

Secondly, I hâve made the choice of writing my mémoire in an interview format.

Basically, it could be seen as a self-interrogating interview. Of course the interview

has been conducted in order to shape and communicate the notions significant to my

work. Therefore, the décision to write in such a fashion has been mainly chosen as a

formai device to explore the theory generated by my painting practice.

V

ILLUSTRATIONS

Image 1

James Rosenquist, Astor Victoria, 1959.

VI

Image 2

David Elliott, September 1953, 2002.

VII

Image 3

Franck Stella, Raqqa II, 1979.

VIII

Image 4

Philip Guston, The Studio, 1969.

IX

Image 5

Peter Halley, Two cells with conduits, 1987

X

Image 6

Barnett Newman, Jéricho, 1968-1969.

XI

Image 7

Dan Brault, Hot Pipes, 2005.

XII

Image 8

Barry Allikas, Royal Georges, 1996.

XIII

Image 9

Dan Brault, Installation: Le Salon des Refusés, 2005.

XIV

Image 10

Dan Brault, Floating Baldhead 2 & Akara Road, Cartésia, 2005.

XV

Image 11

Bridget Riley, Intake, 1964.

XVI

Image 12

Dan Brault, Riley's Land, 2006.

XVII

Image 13

Gustave Courbet, Landscape near Maizieres, 1865.

XVIII

Image 14

Guido Molinari, Mutation rythmique bi-jaune, 1965.

XIX

Image 15

Painting 1

Pain tin g 2

Dan Brault, Cigarettes on the floor & Dog Invaders, 2005.

XX

Image 16

Dan Brault, Akara Road, Cartésia, 2005.

XXI

Image 17

Dan Brault, (Clockwise from top left) Johnny, Snail-O-Rama, four marbles andPuise, 2005.

XXII

Image 18

Dan Brault, Floating Baldhead 2, 2005.

XXIII

Image 19

Barry McGee, Portrait, 2000.

XXIV

Image 20

Ellsworth Kelly, Broadway, 1958.

XXV

Image 21

Dan Brault, Bienvenue à Solixland (détail d'installation), 2006.

XXVI

Image 22


XXVII

Image 23


XXVIII

Image 24

•


XXIX

Image 25

i


XXX

Image 26


XXXI

Image 27


XXXII

Image 28

Ii


XXXIII

Image 29

' " — • •

«—se: i

Dan Brault, Bienvenues Solixland (détail d'installation), 2006.

XXXIV

Image 30

Dan Brauit, Bienvenues Solixland (détail d'installation), 2006.

XXXV

INTRODUCTION

Contemporary painting has undergone many transformations in the last few

décades leaving this practice in ambiguous territory. Some criticism has even

gone to déclare its death or its obsolescence as a significant player in présent

day art. "The viability of painting has undergone a number of examinations

precipitated by factors ranging from the onset of photomechanical reproduction to

the revolutionary attempt to forge a new aesthetic erasing boundaries between

art and life"1. Despite ail the latter, painting's résurgence seems to be obvious

and persistent in suggesting both the inner necessities of the artist and the world

in which he/she lives.

During the past décade, I hâve practiced the art of painting and hâve never

ceased to be fascinated by its limitless possibilities. With time, I hâve corne to

equally appreciate painting's confines and qualities. The slow quality of this

médium might seem a little inappropriate for today's ever faster needs but it

grants the viewer great autonomy: the power to control time in his own choosing.

Far from being a rétrograde médium, painting is influenced by ail that surrounds

it, whether it is new technologies or very simple daily expériences. AN in ail, my

painting practice has allowed me to grow as an artist, as a person, and persists

to do so on a daily basis. My research at the master's level has allowed me to

focus and develop my own intakes relative to the challenges of contemporary

painting.

This essay is articulated in three chapters to accompany my painting research.

The first chapter introduces an overview of my practice and présents theoretical

foundations on which it is based. The second chapter explores the origins of my

paintings. In other words, I investigate the making of my paintings and how I

' Kathy Halbreich (Director), Foreword, in Painting at the Edge ofthe World, Walker Art Center,Minneapolis, 2001, p.5

approach this process. The last chapter looks into the mise en espace of my

work. This chapter essentially deals with the hangings stratégies I use to explore

and présent the eclectic nature of my practice.

1. BUILDING BRIDGES: THE ART OF ASSOCIATIONS

Can you describe what motivated you to create this body of work?

My painting practice is constructed on a récurrent interest in the confrontation of

eclectic imagery. I am fascinated by the interconnections created when two

paintings are brought together to form a mongrel. To do so, I dab in différent

image références: hard edge painting, comic book illustration, and historical

genres (romantic landscape for example) to explore the rapport of visual entities

in relation to each other.

How do you explore thèse interconnections?

Via installative hangings, I attempt to initiate dialogues between différent image

styles and possibly instigate new jointed interprétations. The installations become

a network where I join différent painting genres together. Without any

preconceived allusion to their potential participation in the installation, each

canvas is built autonomously and can remain so. However, each pièce will

participate as a fragment for the probable installations.

Are you looking for something in particular? Is there something that you

want to manifest?

I certainly do not hâve an agenda. My work is not elaborated to support a

preconceive statement or a philosophy that I feel is important. I consider my art

engaging because of the originality I find in the connections of thèse

assemblages. By combining fragments of historical movements with a genuine

intake on new social and aesthetical aspects of reality such as multiculturalism,

my work aims at building new legitimate objectives for the continuation of this

médium. As Nicolas Bourriaud points out: "Nous ne voyons plus notre époque

comme un ensemble de caractéristiques inédites, liées à une progression

technologique et à des avancées politiques, spirituelles ou sociales, mais comme

un point nodal d'écoulement, au cœur duquel certaines formes du passé et des

zones de progression rapide, en mutation s'entremêlent pour générer du

présent'2.

Since your art dwells on historical ways of thinking, aren't you afraid to

simply repeat history?

"I think I hâve always looked at other artists' works. No one can avoid addressing

a tradition, or many traditions. The question is rather how to use those

traditions"3. I do not simply re-use history. According to Nicolas Bourriaud, we are

ail part owners of cultural pasts and what we do with it is fundamental. "Mais ce

nouvel imaginaire d'alliance [...] préfère, à l'éradication des formes du passé,

l'aménagement de celles-ci en fonction de comportements inventés ou tout

simplement adéquats"4. My intention is to use what I think is valuable in collage-

like assemblages and hopefully create new up to date contexts for thèse

pictures. Taking into considération that art is never done in a vacuum, thèse

connections are as much a référence to the tradition of painting as they are

open-ended propositions.

A few artists hâve worked with the idea of collages. How do you respond to

that tradition?

Thèse hétéroclite assemblages differ from cubist collages and even of pop

'combine paintings' because they do not reduce their individual éléments to the

unity of a composition.5 Ail the components of my artwork présent strong

perceptible characters and the dynamics between the characters bring about an

animated clash (both négative and positive). Furthermore, my 'collages' are not

2 Nicolas Bourriaud, " La Mutuelle des Formes ", in Art Press, hors série # 19, 1998, p. 1693 Anna Fro Vodder, Interviewed by Kari Immonen, STOP for a moment, painting as présence, Helsinki,Finlande, 2002, p. 184 Nicolas Bourriaud, " La Mutuelle des Formes ", in Art Press, hors série # 19, 1998, p. 1665 Catherine Millet, " David Salle: la peinture que le regard disperse", in Art Press, février 1985, p.88

made within one painting like you could say of David Salle's work. The 'collage'

part is brought to a différent level: the wall space of the gallery becomes a web

(like a white canvas) where I bridge various painting languages together. In other

words, the collage takes place on the wall instead of being on the paintings

themselves.

1.1 CITATION, APPROPRIATION AND PLURALISM.

Where does this désire for a pluralistic approach to painting corne from?

The works of David Elliott, James Rosenquist and David Salle deal with such

ambitions and hâve certainly influenced my research in painting. AH thèse artists

deal with a pluralistic approach to painting. James Rosenquist's work, for

example, draws on the language of advertising and popular culture (image 1).

His work shows a lavish portrait of popular imagery remodeled into a fragmented

whole. The resuit is a pictorial collage that triggers intriguing poetical visual

associations between ail the painting's fragments. On a nearer level, the

teachings of David Elliott hâve also motivated my artistic inquiries. Elliott's

painting also feeds from popular culture in collage-like compositions (image 2).

Having to work as his assistant for almost two years, certainly allowed me to

familiarize myself with this method of working visual material. Above ail, however,

I think that my désire to produce pluralistic styles émerges from my love for the

history of painting. More specifically, I play with the various forms painting has

taken in the course of history. Artists like Peter Halley (image5), Franck Stella

(image 3) and Philip Guston (image 4) (to name but a few) hâve ail had their

share of influence. Nonetheless, I am not suggesting that my paintings contain

visual components that belong to thèse artists. Rather my pluralistic approach to

painting draws from a varied interest in the language of painting. Still, this

process operated itself on a sub-conscious level. I never deliberately decided to

fashion my work as such.

So thèse influences hâve encouraged you to work in différent styles rather

than pushing you to choose one particular style that would suit you better?

That's right. But I never initially wanted to be pluraliste in my work. In a way, I

hâve always envied people who could commit to a certain aesthetic and who

invested in deepening their research within a spécifie visual idiom. On the other

hand, I think I could never hâve work in such a manner because my interests are

too scattered and it would hâve bored me too quickly. In the end, I believe that

we ail adopt a way of doing that resembles who we are. I estimate that my love

for various aesthetics and genres has contributed to the fact that I perceive

myself as a multi-faceted person. For example, I can distinguish myself as being

at the same time a brother, a lover, a student, a son, a painter, etc. Thèse

diverse facets are ail part of who I am. I think my art reflects this to some extent. I

also adhère to the notion of the artist as a DJ. "L'exemple du Dj éclaire tout un

pan de la création contemporaine. Le sample, le mixage révèlent clairement

l'apparition d'une problématique de l'habitat : ou comment habiter la culture et les

formes dont nous avons hérité. Le Dj incarne le paradigme contemporain du

créateur: un programmateur, capable de tirer parti au maximum du réel

existant'6. Moreover, there were numerous discussions regarding "sampling" and

"appropriation" during my bachelors at Concordia University and it offered the

possibility to play with "other people's art". It was very liberating because it

reassessed the notion of originality. You no longer needed to create a personal

'language'. It was very exciting to paint by picking up ideas from various historical

genres and remixing them to create something new. I guess, I never got over this

thrill and you could say that I still pursue this approach to art.

' Nicolas Bourriaud, " La Mutuelle des Formes", in Art Press, hors série # 19, 1998, p. 163

Is sampling something you are interested in?

It is certainly something that I hâve been using in the past but I don't think that

what I do now would be purely considered as such. The notion of sampling

somehow implies that you take your materials from something aiready existing. It

is like using citations in an essay. In other words, we must differentiate the nature

of the citation: whether it is used by a writer or by a Visual artist. The use of a

citation by a writer signifies that the sampled material is identical to its original

source, however, for a visual artist, this is not always so obvious. Even though

my work resembles or brings to mind genres and styles of the past, I don't think it

could be classified as 'pure' sampling because it is never identical to the original

source. At any rate, ail art is influenced by something, whether it is by history,

popular culture, new technologies, etc. "The thing to remember is that ail art is a

mongrel. We talk about pure this and pure that, but I think that everything is

affected by its neighbors"7. I suppose you could say that I use sampling in my

work if you consider sampling as a form of appropriation rather than a citation.

Appropriation means that what you référence becomes yours. This notion is

subtly différent but I think it is more relevant to visual art practices. Since it

suggests that whatever I utilized went through a certain degree of transformation.

And this 'transformation' becomes something you find significant when

you use sampling?

Yes, because it dénotes a shift in the conception of sampling. If you compare this

idea with that of the artists that worked with sampling in the 1980s, you will

realize that there is a différence. There was a feeling of closure at the time that

made thèse artists feel like nothing new was possible. Ail had been done. AH you

could do was re-use (sample) the language of modernism and hopefully

transform its meaning by working it in a différent context. According to Sherrie

Levine: "[...] chaque image est hypothéquée et n'est qu'un espace dans lequel

7 David Elliott, "Interviewed by Joyce Millar", Just Painting, Stuart Hall Gallery, Montréal, 2002, p.4

diverses images dont aucune n'est originale, s'affrontent et se confrontent'8. The

neo-geo (Peter Halley, Ross Bleckner, Sherrie Levine and Philip Taaffe) for

example

[...] revised abstraction as a symbol of the American sixties by re-

formulating 1960s géométrie art. For thèse artists the sixties are a

watershed when consumer society, the advance of technology and the

loss of political idealism caused changes in nearly ail social institutions,

including the arts. As an idealistic practice [thèse painters] suggest that

abstraction has corne to an end9.

Consequently, thèse artists sampled the formai language of géométrie

abstraction as the foundation for their own new assertion. Thus their sampling

method seems différent from mine. Their opération implied that the 'sampled

material' (géométrie imagery) had to be associated to its original source

(modemist abstraction) to function as a painting (image 5 and 6). They did not

transform the material itself but the context in which it was presented. It was

important, if not essential, to their projects for their "[...] paintings imply-through

their spécifie présentation of forms- a reinterpretation of sixties' and seventies'

abstraction and Minimalism"10. Unlike the work of thèse artists, my painting

practice does not appropriate or manipulate certain imagery to critic a philosophy

in order to function. When working with samples I am conscious that my art is

centered on my ability to organize numerous éléments together. Like the techno

musician who uses différent tracks to make a tune I, too, aim to create a

cohesive whole but within the gallery setting. Although I place myself within the

discourse of appropriation, this new idea "signais a libération from the emotional

boundaries suggested by [sampling]"11.

8 Sherrie Levine, quoted by Christian Besson, " Dossier: II n'y a pas de nouvelle abstraction", in Art Press,no 106, septembre 1986, p.189 Elizabeth Sussman, « The Last Picture Show », in Endgame: Référence and Simulation in RécentPainting and Sculpture, New York, 1986, p.51l0Ibid, p.57nlbid, p.64

So the genres or styles that you use are somehow sampled from various

visual aesthetics. Yet, your work does not require the connections with its

origins to function as such?

It is a little more complex than that. The paintings I produce originate from

diverse visual backgrounds. Whether they corne from previous painting genres,

new computerized imagery or from popular culture, it matters very little to me.

What they ail share, however, is a certain altération from their original contexts.

For instance, I can alter them by adding new aesthetic components to a

particular genre or by dislocating aesthetics éléments out of their original

contexts. Thèse are two examples of how I can altercate my paintings références

away from their foundations. In that sensé, they can sometimes be practically

removed from any connections to their origins. Yet, the images I use ail carry

their own références that automatically alludes to their origination whether I

transform them or not. Furthermore, some of my paintings hâve had very little

transformation from their initial conditions. If we take "Hot Pipes" for example, this

hard edge painting is almost identical in style to paintings of this genre from the

1980's to this day (image 7 and 8). Still, it seems trivial to me that this painting

does not présent something new from its historical tie. This link to previous hard

edge paintings is inconsequential since my work is not concerned with the genre

of hard edge painting per se but more appropriately with the interactions of

various genres (of which hard edge is just one of). This is also true for ail of my

pictures and it explains why my work does not require the connections with its

origins to function.

1.2 BEYOND APPROPRIATION

Sampling seems to be something that émerges from your practice yet not

something that is purposefully put forward. Do you deliberately avoid

thinking about it?

In a way, you could say that this is true but again it is a bit more intricate than

that. First of ail, sampling or appropriation is a method of working images that I

use from time to time but it is not my only approach. It is one way of doing. I do

not negate the fact that I use such method but it is not necessarily something that

I wish to put forward in my work since my paintings are not always built according

to the idiom of appropriation. Also, I hâve this désire to transform and reorganize

my visual material and I think we could see this as a désire to create my own

language. That is something that interfères with the conception of sampling

because I am still playing with the notion of originality that would otherwise be

evacuated with sampling. Therefore, it would seem incorrect to confine my work's

methodology only to appropriation since I do not completely subscribe my

practice to this notion.

Do you hâve a spécifie method of working then?

I never orchestrate the way I paint. I do not premeditate a plan in the sélection of

my imagery. I try to be as open as possible to let any image that I find interesting

permeate my work (Whether the images are sampled from somewhere spécifie in

history or if I create them from my imagination). What I do is a melting pot of

citations, appropriations and innovations. We hâve this great tradition in painting

and I do not see why I would deprive myself of utilizing such rich visual material.

However, unlike the artists working with sampling in the 1980's, I do not restrain

myself purely to this methodology. I believe in the récupération of previous

théories and aesthetics for today's purpose but I also feel the need to create new

entities. In that light, it seems that my painting practice employs a panoply of

H)

methods to create a variety of pictures. Hence, my pluralisme approach to

painting is also found on two levels: innovation and récupération.

What is constant in your working practice?

The only consistency in my working methodology is my attitude towards the

notion of pluralism. In other words my inconsistency is my consistency. "The way

I work is like a soup man. I constantly hâve this hotpot boiling and I throw ail

kinds of material into it, you know, personal expérience and things that interest

me, for example, a record sleeve or the title of an album. I look for différent

pattems of working, and am constantly trying out new mixes and ways of

combining things"12.

Is your hotpot of soup a means to create a melting pot of images?

I never considered my practice in that sensé. Rather than a melting pot I

conceive it more like a mosaic (image 9). What I find interesting about the

concept of the mosaic is that it simultaneously evokes fragmentation and unity.

My work opérâtes exactly on those two opposites. Each part can be seen

individually and yet it participâtes in the total outeome. I consider my painting

practice similar to a mosaic because the various images stay autonomous from

one another and are self-sufficient yet participate in a unifying sum. They are not

altered to accommodate only one surface. Moreover, it is part of my discourse to

represent singular images in view of provoking an interaction amid the différent

paintings. Yet this interaction requires of each painting to be distinctive and not

mish mashed to the benefit of a flowing whole. The particular personality of each

painting brings to the installation a feeling of disjunction. We feel interruptions

when moving from one painting to another. Ironically, this disjunction is essential

to my work because each independent pièce is forced to participate in a cohesive

meeting. This meeting is not based on the relation of subject matter or even of

12 Tal R, "Interviewée! by Mika Hannula", STOP for a moment, painting as présence, Helsinki, Finlande,2002, p.56

II

compositions, but rather due to the physical présence of the paintings. We make

out links from painting to painting because they are hung on the same wall and

made from the same artist.

What do you mean when you mention that the unification of your work is

due to the physical présence of the paintings?

I mean that I construct each painting as separate parts and I do not concentrate

on making links in advance. As a resuit, when I hang the paintings collectively

the works usually do not hâve much in common subject matter wise yet we know

that they are part of a personal body of work. Even though there is no obvious

link we automatically try to concoct some. It is partly due to the fact that the same

artist is the sole generator. Also, when going from one painting to another we

usually attempt to make bridges between the pièces in view of discovering the

common ground put forward by the artist. Since the link making seems to be

awkward (because I hâve no real désire to présent them as equals) what really

bonds them together is the fact that they are ail paintings. When I mention

painting I refer not to the subject matter but to its présence as an object.

Therefore, that is what I meant when I pointed out the fact that the physical

présence of my paintings is responsible for the unification of my work. That being

said, the physical présence of my paintings does not assure the success of the

union put forward in the installation but it helps in presenting a 'surface' unity to

the installation.

Hence, there are no possible links other than the physicality of the

paintings?

Obviously, there are other possible connections to be made between the

paintings; since, the paintings are produced in the same studio and very often

produced in the same session. Also, I usually work on several canvases at the

same time. Therefore, certain colors, designs, ideas frequently respond to each

other while the paintings are in process (image 10). Thus, this is why there

12

seems to be relations to be found between the paintings. Nevertheless, the

possible formai links between the paintings are not necessarily assured. That is

why I meant that the unity of my work rests on the physicalness (surface) of the

paintings because it is the only constant link that never shifts even though it is

not enough to assure its legitimacy.

13

2.THE PAINTINGS AND THEIR ORIGINS

/ would like you to talk about where your paintings corne from.

Basically, ail my paintings corne from my imagination even those that seem to be

sampled from a spécifie territory in the history of art. I would hâve a hard time

thinking about where precisely they could originate other than from my life

expériences. Whether my imagination feeds on video game, publicity, my cat, the

books I read, what I eat, a painter I admire, my pains, an inspiring musical pièce

or my latest fascination for snails, it is impossible to tell. My inspirations dérive

from ail of the latter and a lot more. In spite of that, most of my paintings are

based in the belief that "[...] today there is no consistent 'look', no particular

method, style, material, subject, or thème that identifies a painting as credibly

contemporary or, on the other hand, disqualifies it from considération as such"13.

Therefore, most (if not ail) visual languages and expériences are worthy of

considération and can potentially find their way into my work no matter where

they emanate.

So any visual idiom goes?

Obviously, when it cornes to gathering visual information, I do not let anything

'go'. Some sélection occurs. What I meant was that any visual idiom can be

considered. However, this does not mean that I choose my images randomly

without any personal input. It simply means that I do not choose my images

according to a hierarchy of significances. More precisely, I hâve no sélective

process that validâtes (or not) certain aesthetics as higher or lower visual

material. Additionally, I try to leave space for novelties and innovations because I

am interested in discovering new visual grounds that enrich my painting practice.

For example, a new form to my painting is the addition of the landscape genre.

13 Barry Shwabsky, "Painting in the interrogative mode", in Vitamin P: New Perspective in Painting,Phaidon Press Limited, London, 2002, p.09

14

Not until recently, I had never painted a landscape or even entertained the idea

of doing so. The idea only occurred to me last summer when I was on a cycling

trip around the lac St-Jean. The fields in Albanel had been freshly ploughed

leaving the ground striped with rows of greens and yellows. The topography of

the land resembled a Bridget Rilley painting from the sixties (image 11). I

suddenly realize the potential of this discovery and as soon as I retumed to my

studio, I started experimenting with the rapprochement of landscape painting and

abstraction (image 12).

2.1 THE NOTIONS OF HYBRIDIZATION AND HETEROGENEITY

That's mteresting because it seems to me that quite a few of your paintings

share a certain degree of hybridization. What can you tell us about this

idea?

It is true that most of my paintings présent a certain degree of impurity. What I

mean by impurity is the mingling of genre to genre. Nothing is left authentic. For

example, when I mentioned the alliance of landscape and abstraction it started

out as a révélation. It then brought me to think that two entities could potentially

breed new créatures. Thèse créatures are in perpétuai states of "in-betweeness".

Thus, the paintings done with the idea of bridging modernist abstraction and

classical landscape (image 13 and 14) are left in a realm of ambiguity. We are no

longer in the situation of an ordinary rich language where a striped field, for

instance, would directly designate a country scène14. Naturally, the références for

such genre hâve shifted because of its connections to modernist abstraction. In

the previous example, I am very conscious of how the landscape\abstraction

union originated. However, it is not always so clear. One thing for sure is that my

painting process encourages the contamination of one style to another. As I hâve

14 Midori Matsui, "New Openings in Japanese Painting: Three Faces of Minor-Ity", in Painting at the Edgeofthe World, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, 2001, p.68

15

mentioned previously in the text, I work on several canvases at the same time.

Colors, designs and ideas frequently overlap from canvas to canvas as do styles

and genres. Therefore, it is not abnormal for my paintings to exchange and taint

one another (image 15). For example, when I paint I often look at other paintings

hung in my studio space and sometimes éléments that are found in one painting

might possibly migrate to the painting I am presently composing.

Is hybridization a way to create new images from old ones?

It certainly has the capacity to do so. I am conscious of this potential but the

hybridization in my work is not always done consciously. If the construction of my

work, by use of hybridization, is done on a semi-conscious level the resuit is

rarely as ambiguous. Furthermore, my work is not always the resuit of

hybridization. It is often left in a state of heterogeneousness. Sometimes the

eclectic visual éléments of a painting merge to create a real hybrid resuit (image

12). Otherwise, the éléments are left in a heterogeneous state where we can still

recognize the différent part of its constitution (image 16). To a certain extent, it is

my belief that ail art is a resuit of some kind of hybridization and my art is no

exception. Nonetheless, in my case, this concept is strongly affirmed by the end

resuit of my work. As Philip Guston once declared: "There is something ridiculous

and miserly in the myth we inherit from abstract art: that painting is autonomous,

pure and for itself, and therefore we habitually defined its ingrédients and define

its limits. But painting is "impure". It is the adjustment of impurities, which forces

painting's continuity [...]"15.

According to this citation no artist can affirm that his/her practice is pure of

ail influences?

I cannot speak on behalf of other artists but I certainly believe that pristine

originality only exists as an utopist thought. What I believe Philip Guston meant

15 Phillip Guston in 1960, quoted by Musa Meyer, Night Studio: A memoir of Philip Guston, New York,1988, p.141

16

by this quote is that it is somewhat naïve of some artists of his epoch to state that

they attained purity in their médium (purity in the sensé of the limits of the

médium and its possibilities).

Why do you feel the concept of crossbreeding is so strongly affirmed in

your paintings?

I wonder if it is actually always so blatant. If so, it is probably due to the fact that

I do not conceal it. In fact, my painting process itself carries the potential 'virus' of

hybridity\heterogeneity. The notion of the virus is interesting because it suggests

that there is 'intégration and extraction' from cell to cell16. If we apply this concept

to painting it would mean that aesthetic éléments are appropriated from one

painting and contaminâtes another with the acquired baggage and so on and so

on. We could also observe this virus in my work as having two behaviors. The

first behavior implies that the virus reproduces itself as is. Meaning hère that it

copies aesthetics éléments of one painting to another (image 15). The second

behavior of the virus is more often found in my paintings and it implies that the

virus is in mutation. It always transforms and disguises itself so that the

reproduction pattern is slightly more elusive. For example, the oval shape of the

head found in the painting "Johnny" is reminiscent of the three éléments

composing the painting "snail-o-rama" and then it is metamorphosed into the

three orange circles of the painting "puise" to finally mutate into four marbles in

the painting "four marbles" (image 17). In that light, we could picture my studio as

contagious breading ground where paintings are dangerously exposed to this

phenomenon. Therefore, it might explain why the concept of crossbreeding is so

présent in my work.

' Gilles Deleuze et Félix Guattari, Rhizome, Paris, Minuit, 1977, p.31

17

Is there an antidote to the contagious spread of the 'hybrid' virus?

First of ail, I do not believe this 'virus' is too threatening. Obviously, the real

danger lies in the first aspect of the virus. If it kept repeating the same pattern,

my work would end up being corrupted by its own narcissist admiration in an

endless vicious circle. Fortunately, as I hâve mention earlier, the virus habitually

takes the disguise form, thus assuring my work's continuity and potential

innovations. Hence, I live in symbiosis with the notion of hybridity. It feeds my

work and allows me to breach new grounds. However, there is an absolute basis

to my work that is never affected by the virus. I identify this ground as painting's

self-consciousness. I suggest this term as a référence to the notion that painting

is first and foremost a painting before being anything else. The painting's self-

consciousness acts like a shadow. It always follows the painting and is intrinsic to

the conception of my practice. Barry Schwabsky stated "[...] [that] abstract

painting represented a kind of progress, it was essentially in the form of

consciousness- but consciousness of something that was always inhérent in

painting"17. This consciousness is precisely at the heart of ail my paintings.

2.2 PAINTING'S SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS

So the basis of your paintings is their allegiance to your concept of

painting's awareness?

I believe so. Yet this may seem similar to the dogmatic mission of painting for

painting's sake by modernist painters but it is somehow différent. If modernist

painters were interested in exposing what was inhérent to painting in terms of its

physicality, it deliberately avoided and expelled painting's history. Of course,

according to Greenberg " one tends to see what is in an Old Master before

Barry Shwabsky, "Painting in the interrogative mode", in Vitamin P: New Perspective in Painting,Phaidon Press Limited, London, 2002, p.06

18

seeing it as a picture [...]"18. In other words, the subject matter of Old Master

paintings is irrelevant since it prevents us to see it as a picture. I agrée to the

idea that painting is a painting before it is a subject matter but in no way do I

believe that this is ail that painting should be about. I conceive my paintings first

and foremost as 'paintings' rather than seeing them merely as evocative pictures

but it does not exclude my work from taking subject matter that refers to

something else than painting's identity. What I call painting' self-consciousness is

an awareness to painting's materiality and to painting's history. Worded

differently, it signifies that my paintings are bounded by the realm of what

painting has been and is. "If Modernism was an advance in consciousness [...]

then we can never go back to seeing what is in a painting before seeing it as a

painting19". Consequently, what underlies ail my work is this basic concept. Far

from being a dogma, this concept allows me to work my paintings in a relatively

unifying way. Since I am not looking for unity in 'something' ambivalent or neutral

lying underneath ail my paintings. Rather, I seek a gênerai organization that

embraces them ail20. My paintings need to work as paintings before they can

operate as something else. "[Il faut] se rappeler qu'un tableau, avant d'être un

cheval de bataille, une femme nue ou une quelconque anecdote est

essentiellement une surface plane recouverte de couleurs en un certain ordre

assemblées"2\ Besides, I work my paintings by looking for what is needed in

terms of painting and never what is needed in terms of subject matter. In the

painting " Akara Road, Cartésia" (image 16), for example, the black dot on the far

right corner of the painting does not make sensé as a landscape élément. We

cannot refer this object to any spécifie 'natural' formation. I added the black dot

not because I felt it essential to the subject matter but because it made more

sensé to the composition of the painting.

18 Clément Greenberg, quoted by Barry Shwabsky, "Painting in the interrogative mode", in Vitamin P: NewPerspective in Painting, Phaidon Press Limited, London, 2002, p.0619 Barry Shwabsky, "Painting in the interrogative mode", in Vitamin P: New Perspective in Painting,Phaidon Press Limited, London, 2002, p.0920 Nelson Goodman, 'Manières défaire des mondes' [Ways of Worldmaking], Nîmes : Éditions JacquelineChambon, 1992 [1978], p.1421 Maurice Denis 1980 Tiré de : catalogue de l'exposition Les Nabis, Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal (20août au 22 novembre 1998),Montréal, Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, 1998,p. 128

19

This example is similar with your explanation about hybridization and

heterogeneity. Are thèse thoughts interconnected?

I certainly hope so; otherwise, my work would be completely disarticulated. I

believe that the notions of hybridization and heterogeneity are physical results of

my conception of painting's self-consciousness. In some respects, hybridity and

heterogeneity are concepts that we can visually grasp. If we take " floating

baldhead 2", it is évident that we are in the présence of a heterogeneous

amalgam of genres (image 18). On the other hand, this does not explain how

such links are made. It simply illustrâtes that my paintings are built upon a variety

of visual références. Conversely to the latter, my concept of painting's

awareness, as I hâve argued earlier, would be better suited as an explanation of

how I make such associations.

So the act of bridging together various visual genres is somehow

supported by your concept of painting's consciousness?

It leaves no doubt in my mind, that the concept of painting's awareness that

reunifies ail my paintings is responsible for my employment of hybridization and

heterogeneity. Considering what motivated the use of hybridization in my work,

is, I believe, the fact that my "[...] painting [practice] has turned into a System of

conscious reflection[s] on its own condition [...]"22 Therefore, the act of bridging

together différent visual idioms is animated by this thought and it explains why

two disparate éléments can reunite. My painting practice no longer functions in

the realm of 'painting as a window on the world' but painting as a world. As

Nelson Goodman points out: "Les mondes sont faits en faisant ainsi des versions

avec des mots, des nombres, des images, des sons, ou tout autres symboles de

toutes sortes dans n'importe quel médium [...J'23. Thus, this is why classical

landscape can be united with modem abstraction on the basis that they are ail

22 Jôrg Heiser, "The Odd Couple", ", in Painting at the Edge ofthe World, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis,2001,p.l3823 Nelson Goodman, 'Manières défaire des mondes'' [Ways of Worldmaking], Nîmes : Éditions JacquelineChambon, 1992 [1978], p. 124

20

part of the world we call Painting. Moreover, "pour faire un monde à partir d'un

autre, il faut souvent procéder à des coupes sévères et à des opérations de

comblement- à l'extraction véritable de vieux matériaux et à leur remplacement

par de nouveaux"24. In that light, it seems only legitimate that my practice uses

such methodology as hybridization and heterogeneity.

Is the title of your exhibition 'Welcome to Solixland' a référence to your

concept of the construction of worlds?

Yes, the title was intentionally chosen to suggest and promote the idea of

entering a world. It is a world constructed by myself. Thus the reason I call it

Solixland which is an invented name to avoid any confusion or any références to

already found worlds. The construction of worlds refers to the show and to each

painting. To a certain extent, the paintings are individual world constructions and

also act like touristy snap shot views of the location: Solixland. Furthermore,

within this notion can we allude once more to what I previously explained

concerning the mosaic. I use the mosaic in a metaphoric form to avoid

referencing the classical notion of mosaic art, which aims at a figurative and

décorative unity of its entire fragment. Nonetheless, there is a paradox between

unity and fragmentation within the concept of the mosaic. In the conception of

Solixland, much like in the mosaic, we observe a variety of pictorial propositions

that are individual and intégral to the greater whole. "En aucun cas, il ne faut

s'attendre à un résultat unique; les univers de mondes aussi bien que les

mondes eux-mêmes peuvent être construits de bien des manières"25.

[lbid,p.\5'Ibid,pA4

21

So the construction ofyour world is based on other worlds?

According to Nelson Goodman: "Pour construire le monde comme nous savons

le faire, on démarre toujours avec des mondes déjà à disposition; faire, c'est

refaire"26. In relation to this quote, I build my own interprétation of the world by

sampling how others hâve viewed and translated the world in images. "// se peut

qu'appartiennent au même monde des entités bigarrées se recoupant les unes

les autres en des motifs compliqués"27. By taking samples of différent visuals

sources, my art naturally becomes eclectic like a complicated motif.

2.3 THE IDEA OF SIMULACRUM

So your paintings are based on how other people hâve visually

interpretated the world?

When I paint, I do not use the natural world as a model but rather our image

culture. Some of my paintings are based on preconceived ideas (clichés) that are

part of our artistic héritage. For example, the material I employ as stimulation is

often once or twice removed from the original subject/object. For instance, some

of the images I hâve utilized as inspiration for my landscape paintings are taken

from photocopies of photographs, illustrations, and paintings found on the

Internet. For this reason, my images are detached from the original idea of

landscape: that is to paint directly from nature or to frame a part of nature. Hence

my art is not a resuit of a personal relationship with the 'natural world' but to the

simulacra. "Our world has become truly infinité, or rather exponential by means

of images. It is caught up in a mad pursuit of images, in an ever greater

fascination, which is only accentuated by video and digital images. We hâve thus

corne to the paradox that thèse images describe the equal impossibility of the

26 Ibid, p. 1021 Ibid, p. 17

22

real and of the imaginary28". Consequently, my art functions more on the level of

painting for painting than the représentation of a real thing. Ail my paintings, to

some extent, share this commonality.

Since your paintings are not descriptive of the real, are they simply

pastiches?

To some extent my paintings are pastiches of the image culture. Very often I play

around with art historical concepts and revisit them through my own personal

intake. For example, in the painting entitled 'floating baldhead 2' (image 18), I

purposefully distort a crossover of the portraiture genre (image 19) and of a color

field monochrome (image 20). The portrait lacks eyes and is dislocated from his

body leaving it but a mère floating fragment. The color field is also parodied by

the fact that it is reduced in scale to a three feet by three feet format (color fields

usually occupy our complète field of vision) and lastly it is stained with a face.

Hence the term pastiche is explored through the imitation and satire of différent

artistic schools of thought seen in painting. Always via image culture références, I

try to pervert not the sampled idiom but its historical painting références. My

paintings are always reflexively concerned with their own status as paintings.

"They are paintings, yes, but also allégories of painting"29.

28 Jean Baudrillard, The Evil Démon of Images and The Precession of Simulacra, The Power Institute ofFine Arts, Sydney, 1987, p. 19429 Barry Shwabsky , "Pain t ing in the interrogat ive m o d e " , in Vitamin P: New Perspective in Painting,Phaidon Press Limited, London , 2002 , p .09

23

3. RECONSIDERING PAINTING: A DISPLACEMENT OF

CONVENTIONS?

How does your work acknowledge the space in which it is hung?

The space in which my art is hung plays a determining rôle in the configuration of

my installative hangings. Even though my work is not entirely based in an in situ

practice, the venues in which I hang my paintings always shape the end resuit.

The gallery walls become a canvas where I can explore the interaction of various

painting languages. Thèse walls then become the support for thèse interactions.

Therefore, the gallery space becomes inevitably linked to the concept of my

work.

How do you understand your painting practice in today's artistic context?

"Painting is a zombie médium. As a painter you are a little bit like a guy showing

up in a tiger suit at a techno party. So your dress code is outdated, but you might

still hâve the best moves on the dance floor"30. In my case, my work is sort of a

célébration of the practice of painting. I référence the history of painting in

relation to how we perceive it today. "There are people in the art world who will

reject painting just because it is painting, considering it old fashion, bourgeois,

etc"31. As mentioned by Tal R in the first quote, it is true that painting might be

viewed a little outdated, however, the idea of progress in art should not mean

that old médiums are necessarily out of touch with today's necessities. "Painting

is a challenge. There are so many other things that hâve gone before you, and

that are happening around you. It implies a commitment, and you are measuring

up to a history, as well as to the présent moment"32. Painting, unlike novel

médiums, offers a direct physical connection by the simple fact that we can

30 Tal R, ' In terviewed by Mika Hannula ' , STOP for a moment, painting as présence, Hels inki , Finlande,2002, p.5631 David Elliott, "Interviewed by Joyce Millar", Just Painting, Stuart Hall Gallery, Montréal, 2002, p.532 Barry Allikas, "Interviewed by Joyce Millar", Just Painting, Stuart Hall Gallery, Montréal, 2002, p.7

24

observe closely and slowly the présence of the artist's application of the paint. As

a viewer, this relation to another human being has a particular kind of gravity:

one that reminds us that we are not alone. What I hâve observed in my work, due

to numerous years of expérimentation, is that I feel the désire to reconsider the

act of painting through non-traditional and traditional methods. By moving

around, switching back and fourth within conventions, I produce paintings that

can, today, still stimulate us intellectually, psychologically, physically, and

spiritually.

What do you mean by painting's conventions?

What I mean by conventions, références certain kinds of inhérent rules that more

or less dictate the behaviors of painting. Hence, they are guiding rules that are

fundamental to the practice of painting in gênerai. However, according to me, by

no means are thèse to be entirely respected. I do not question the pertinence of

thèse conventions in view of discrediting their function; instead, my work

intuitively dabs on thèse notions without any mission to direct the discipline of

painting. The reason why I référence thèse conventions is not because I

deliberately decided to, but rather it émanâtes from my work. Basically, du ring

my master's research in painting, I unintentionally explored three types of

conventions that are not solely unique to this discipline. What I mean by this is

that now that the work is completed, I notice that my work has brushed three

récurrent aspects. My multifaceted fashion of painting lead me to question; First,

how I view artistic authorship (3.1); second, how I hâve considered the notion

of painting hanging (3.2); third, how I consider the réception and the création of

my work as a two part expérience (3.3).

25

3.1 THE NOTION OF AUTHORSHIP

So the first 'convention' that your work cornes to grip with is the notion of

the authorship of the artist. How so?

Well, there is this great tradition in art and more specifically in painting based as

to how one perceives an artist's work in récognition of his\her style. In other

words, artists are usually associated with a constant aesthetics or look that is

uniquely expected from them. Basically, this notion is a "central theorical

construct on which the art network is based"33. I think this notion is exceptionally

true for the practice of painting. Therefore, my work being pluralisme in approach

of styles, aesthetics and subject matters necessarily confronts this idea.

According to art critic Barry Shwabsky: "Contemporary painting contends that art

is not one thing and that no one way of looking is sufficient [...][therefore] it is

precisely through this call for flexibility over commitment that contemporary art (of

which painting is just one part) daims a higher degree of self-consciousness than

Modernism"34. Fundamentally, there is not one 'look' or one approach that is

characteristic of my painting practice. My work being miscellaneous and plural

often gives the impression that my exhibitions could be considered a group show.

"[...] One could see this as willful eclecticism, but actually it émerges out of an

approach to crafting motifs, and ensembles of motifs, that has its roots in [...]"35

sampling and appropriation.

33 Yve-Alain Bois, "Painting: The Task of Mourning", in Endgame: Référence and Simulation in RécentPainting and Sculpture, New York, 1986, p.3034Barry Shwabsky, "Painting in the interrogative mode", in Vitamin P: New Perspective in Painting,Phaidon Press Limited, London, 2002, p.0835 Morgan Falconer, « Masquerade, Ugo Rondinone Uncovered », in Modem Painter, London , March2006, p.81.

26

So you mean that there is no defining style to your art?

On the contrary, I believe there is a 'signature' to my work but it cannot be

defined by the same criteria, as the traditional approach: one artist equals one

style. To define my style implies a distance from the conventional notion and

requires a broader view of my paintings. To a certain extent, the signature of my

work is based on the associations made between the ensembles of paintings

hung together. The essence of my practice is not contained by the finished

product (the master pièce) nor is it demonstrated in the process by which the art

is an attestation but within the amplitude of the numerous trajectories spawned

by my artwork. My style is defined by the délimitations of the associations36. My

work echoes that of Nicolas Bourriaud's définition of the techno sampler and his

working method:

La tâche du DJ consiste à acquérir les bons disques, à définir et mettre en

place une programmation. [...] Son style, on ne le perçoit que dans le

temps, jamais sur le moment. L'art du DJ est celui des enchaînements,

des chaînages, des occupations d'interstices. Sa signature apparaît dans

un réseau ouvert dont les terminaux sont éphémères, et sans cesse remis

en cause37.

So your painting assemblages also represent part of your artistic création ?

Of course, the présentation of my artworks becomes intégral to the

compréhension of my painting practice. The fragmented nature of my work

requires a level of unity found once the eclectic pièces are brought together.

Essentially, for my work to function dépends on my capacity to imagine the links,

the combinations, and the relations made between the disparate éléments. As

36 Nicolas Bourriaud, " La Mutuelle des Formes ", in Art Press, hors série # 19, 1998, p. 16737 Ibid, p. 167

27

Nicolas Bourriaud state: "// s'agit d'habiter temporairement le réseau, et de le

faire d'une manière adéquate"38.

3.2 HANGING STRATEGIES

777e way you inhabit the web (réseau,) refers to your second convention,

which deals with how you organize the hanging of your work?

That is correct. The hanging, which is normally seen, as a means to finalize and

présent work, is in my case, a means to create. I perceive the gallery space as a

second phase in the création of my paintings. The fact that I hâve an eclectic way

of painting has pushed me to question and reorganize the hanging concept. By

working on the hanging stratégies I hâve discovered various ways to bring

together my work (For example, the installation entitled "Le Salon des Refusés",

which mimics 19th century French painting exhibitions (image 9)). In this case,

the assorted canvases are ail hung on the same wall creating an emphasis on

the visual synergy shaped by accumulation. Unfortunately, I was unsatisfied with

this attempt because I lost the individual présence of each painting to the greater

visual impact. The installation construction did not succeed in generating

interesting links between parts because they were lost within a prevailing visual

blur. This is the danger of bringing together various visual références, thus, the

importance of the compositional dosage. Basically, the gallery walls act like a

physical bridge that supports my intentional associations between the numerous

canvases. The white walls act like mortar in a mosaic: it becomes a binding

élément and a backdrop to the composition.

38 Nicolas Bourriaud, " La Mutuelle des Formes ", in Art Press, hors série # 19, 1998, p. 168

28

Howdo y ou corne to a décision for the composition ofyour installative

hangings?

The process is very similar to the process I use to construct my individual

paintings. That is, the stratégies I employ to create my installation are analogous

to the stratégies I employ to create my paintings (With the sole exception that my

installations only work on the basis of heterogeneity and never on hybridization

that can be the case for my paintings). Fundamentally, the composition in my

painting is dictated by the idea that a painting must function as a painting before

being something else (formai concerns). This is also true for the composition of

my installative hangings. Basically I look for différent patterns, rhythms, hiatus,

flows, breaks, and clashes between the paintings. To a degree, it is much like

composing a giant painting. It is an improvised journey with no fixed itinerary. I

hope to encourage the observer to link the images stirring eclectic, multi-faceted

layers of allegory, of parody, and of iconography. "The exhibition reinvents [each

painting by] making them polyphonie: their provenance suddenly matters less

than their new-found sociability, their stated project takes a back seat to the

métamorphoses that liberate their unprogrammed conversational resources"39.

So the duality of your work lies on the ambivalent tension between the

painting's individuality versus their new-found sociability?

Well, at least that is what I aimed to do with my research. It occurred to me that

my whole painting practice résides on this very délicate notion. Each painting

needs to stay autonomous and singular. But because my work is so eclectic, I

needed a strategy to possibly link them together. Therefore, the hanging

becomes a way to articulate their connections. I find the notion of sociability very

interesting in relation to my practice because it somehow suggests that each

painting has its own individuality but that it exchanges and converses with its

neighboring paintings. This notion also implies that the community is not based

39 Christian Bernard (Translation de C.Penwarden), " Big Bang: Destruction et Création dans l'art du 20èsiècle", In Art Press, Numéro 316, octobre 2005, p.15

29

on a particular subject matter but on the fact that there is communication within

the formai éléments of the assemblage. "[...] There is a sensé of humor in this

cavalier cross-referencing démonstration of an improbable unity of aesthetic

expérience"40. Ultimately, the network of communication between the paintings is

responsible for the paradoxical union of my singular paintings.

3.3 SINGULARITY VS MULTIPLICITY: TWO EXPERIENCES OF PAINTING

As I understand it, your work is built and experienced on two levels. What

do you think the viewer will obtain from this?

First of ail, it is impossible for me to know how the viewer will react. AN I know is

that my work is built on the notions of mixing and recycling, therefore, it implies

on the part of the viewer an implication. He/she must possess a mind frame open

to indeterminacy, combination, and innovation. He/she will be, after ail, the

information carrier while browsing from one painting to another. In that sensé, it

seems obvious to me that the spectator's journey through "Solixland" will trigger

a chain reaction of reflections. The expérience of the exhibition will be one of

singular discourse with each individual painting but also of intercommunication

due to the show's circuitry. Much like the DJ making music, the installation of my

paintings in the venue will hopefully stir a dynamic rhythmic séquence with it's

puises and breaks. I hope that the positioning of the paintings will be up to that

challenge.

mlbid, p. 15

30

What do you hope to accomplish with the "Welcome to Solixland"

exhibition?

"Among other things, I want my works to be just paintings, so that anybody can

walk in, without knowing anything, and just like them"41. I hope to create a

présentation of paintings that offers two expériences. On one hand, I want to

offer singular expériences with each painting and on a second, I want the whole

exhibition to émit the stature of a larger composed pièce of art. In a way, each

painting offers a unique relation but the overall accumulation is primordial in the

accomplishment of my work because without the larger context my paintings are

dislocated and random. "Overall, it seems its success is down to the acute and

very free vision that it takes- and invites us to take- of the works themselves,

many of which seem to draw fresh vitality from their new context"42. The

exhibition "Welcome to Solixland" was built with that kind of freedom and I hope

that it will generate such liberty in the expérience of my painting.

41 Barry Allikas, "Interviewed by Joyce Millar", Just Painting, Stuart Hall Gallery, 2002, Montréal, p.642 Christian Bernard (Translation de C.Penwarden), " Big Bang: Destruction et Création dans l'art du 20èsiècle", In Art Press, Numéro 316, octobre 2005, (p. 15)

31

CONCLUSION

My painting practice deliberately hovers between traditional approaches and

"out-of-the-frame" stratégies. Many painters hâve taken painting out of the frame

in view of exploring the space that surrounds it; leaving behind certain

established limits they felt répressive. Others hâve consciously decided to remain

within the frame, seeing no need to challenge painting on this point because they

find plenty of space within this realm to pursue their endeavours. Considering

that I respect both perspectives, I hâve had difficulty in choosing a side in

particular. Hence, this indecisiveness has shaped my practice as a hybrid of

thèse two attitudes. It has been challenging, yet it seemed to be the only

appropriate way of doing to suit my painting practice and my personality. It is not

always an easy task to be up to par with both history and today's challenges.

Still, I feel, as an artist, the need to tackle both issues as a means to assure

painting's continuity.

32

TABLE DES ILLUSTRATIONS

1- James Rosenquist, Astor Victoria, 1959, billboard enamel and oil oncanvas, 170.2 X 209.6 cm., Collection of Centre Georges Pompidou.

2- David Elliott, September 1953, 2002, oil and acrylic on canvas, 152 X 137cm.

3- Franck Stella, Raqqa II, 1970, synthetic polymer and graphite on canvas,304,8 X 762 cm., Collection of North Carolina Muséum of Art.

4- Philip Guston, The Studio, 1969, oil on canvas, 121,9 X 106, 7 cm.,Private Collection.

5- Peter Halley, Two Cells with Conduits, 1987, Day-GIo acrylic and Roll-a-tex on canvas, 199,7 X 394 cm., Collection of Solomon R. GuggenheimMuséum, New York.

6- Barnett Newman, Jéricho, 1968-1969, oil on canvas, 269, 2 X 285 cm.

7- Dan Brault, Hot Pipes, 2005, acrylic on canvas, 120 X 120 cm.

8- Barry Allikas, Royal Georges, 1996, acrylic on panel, 106,7 X 91,4 cm.

9- Dan Brault, Installation view: Le Salon des Refusés, 2005, multi-painting installation on wall.

10- Dan Brault, Floating Baldhead 2 & Akara Road, Cartésia, 2005,acrylic, oil and permanent marker on canvas & oil on canvas, 90 X 90 cm.& 30 X 14cm.

11- Bridget Riley, Intake, 1964, emulsion on canvas, 90 X 90 cm,

12- Dan Brault, Riley's land, 2006, oil on canvas, 30 X 30 cm.

13- Gustave Courbet, Landscape near Maizières, 1865, oil on canvas, 50 X65 cm., Collection of Neue Pinakotek Muséum.

14- Guido Molinari, Mutation rythmique bi-jaune, 1965, acrylic and latex oncanvas, 152 X 120cm., Collection of Musée d'art de Joliette.

15- Dan Brault, Cigarettes on the floor & Dog Invaders, 2005, oil oncanvas, 30 X 30cm. & 120 X 150 cm.

16- Dan Brault, Akara Road, Cartésia, 2005, oil on canvas, 30 X 14cm.

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17- Dan Brault, Johnny, 2005, acrylic, oil and permanent marker on canvas& oil on canvas, 90 X 90 cm., Snail-O-Rama, 2005, oil on canvas, 90 X 90cm., Puise, 2005, spray paint on linen, 60 X 98 cm., Four Marbles, 2005,oil on shaped canvas, 48,5 X 43,5 cm.

18- Dan Brault, Floating Baldhead 2, 2005, acrylic, oil and permanentmarker on canvas, 90 X 90 cm.

19-Barry McGee, Portrait, 2000, house paint on métal plate, 33 X 21, 5 cm.

20-Ellsworth Kelly, Broadway, 1958, oil on canvas, 198,1 X 176,8 cm.

21 à 30- Dan Brault, Bienvenue à Solixland (vue d'installation), 2006.

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BIBLIOGRAPHIE

Livres:

* Auping, Michael, Philip Gaston Rétrospective, Thames andHudson: Modem Art Muséum of Fort Worth, Londres, 2003, 271p.

* Baudrillard, Jean, The Evil Démon of Images and ThePrecession of Simulacra, The Power Institute of Fine Arts, Sydney, 1987,p.194.

* Bois, Yve-Alain, « Painting: The Task of Mourning »,PaintingAt the Edge ofthe World, (Douglas Fogle), Walker Art Centre,Minneapolis, Febuary 10- May 6, 2001, 350p., pp. 28-45.

* Deleuze, Gilles et Guattari, Félix, Rhizome, Les Éditionsde Minuit, Paris, 1977, 74p.

* Denis, Maurice, Tiré de : catalogue de l'exposition LesNabis, Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal (20 août au 22 novembre1998), Montréal, Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, 1998, 135p.

* Goodman, Nelson, Manières de faires des mondes, ÉditionsJacqueline Chambon, (traduction de l'édition 1978), 1992, s i , 139p.

* Hannula, Mika; Kari Immonen et Mitro Kaurinkoski, STOP Fora Moment: Painting As Présence, The Nordic Institute for ContemporaryArt (NIFCA), Arken Muséum of Modem Art, Helsinki, Finland, 2002, 60p.

* Heiser, Jorg, « The Odd Couple: Painting, Rock Music, andTheir Shared Stratégies against Obsolescence in the Digital Age »,Painting At the Edge of the World, (Douglas Fogle), Walker Art Centre,Minneapolis, Febuary 10- May 6, 2001, 350p., pp.136-159.

* Matsui, Midori, « New Openings in Japanese Painting: ThreeFaces of Minor-ity », Painting At the Edge of the World, (Douglas Fogle),Walker Art Centre, Minneapolis, Febuary 10- May 6, 2001, 350p., pp.46-77.

* Millar, Joyce (dir.), Just Painting, Stewart Hall ArtGallery, Montréal (September 3 to October 13, 2002), s.L, 24p.

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* Schwabsky, Barry, « Painting In the Interrogative Mode »,Vitamin P: New Perspective in Painting, Phaidon Press Limited, London,2002, 352p., pp. 6-10.

* Sussman, Elizabeth, « The Last Picture Show », Endgame:Référence and Simulation in Récent Painting and Sculpture, New York,1986, 116p., pp. 51-64.

Périodiques:

* Bernard, Christian, « Big Bang: Destruction et Créationdans l'art du 20è siècle », Art Press, numéro 316, Paris, octobre 2005,pp.12-16.

* Besson, Christian, « Dossier: Tableaux Abstraits », Art Press, numéro 106,Paris, septembre 1986, pp. 16-28.

Bourriaud, Nicolas, « La mutuelle des formes », Art Press:Techno-Anatomie des cultures électroniques, hors série numéro 19, Paris,1998, pp. 162-169

* Morgan Falconer, « Masquerade: Ugo Rondinone Uncovered »,Modem Painter, mars 2006, Londres, pp.80-85

* Laumonier, Alexandre, « Courtesy of... », Art Press: Techno-Anatomie des cultures électroniques, hors série numéro 19, Paris, 1998,pp.81-85

* Millet, Catherine, « Entre Composition et Désignation »,Art Press, numéro 129, Paris, octobre 1988, pp.12-17.

« David Salle: la peinture que le regarddisperse », Art Press, numéro 89, Paris, février, 1985, pp.87-91.

Ouvrage cité

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the fragmentation of painting or the art of associations

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