December 4, 2012 – At the heart of the “newly discovered” Saint-Henri neighbourhood in southwestern Montréal, the PARISIAN LAUNDRY gallery, as its name suggests, is a former laundry converted into a magnificent 1,400 m2 gallery dedicated to contemporary art in all its forms.
The two-storey gallery, its vast spaces bathed in natural light, is especially well suited to the large-scale canvases of artists such as Rick Leong or Jennifer Lefort. It’s also ideal for sculpture and installations, which can even be created in situ like those of Québec BGL. In the basement, a concrete “bunker” hosts screenings and multimedia installations.
PARISIAN LAUNDRY has made the reputations of several of the artists it represents, some of whom are now known around the world. Jeanie Riddle, who has run the gallery since 2005, aims to promote contemporary art that renews our perceptions of what is art and what is real. Valérie Blass’s category-defying sculptures, which grabbed critics’ attention at her solo shows here, were later a smash hit at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal.
The gallery’s openings invariably draw a passionate crowd of art students, emergent artists, art teachers, collectors, and other art professionals. It also organizes a yearly group exhibition for graduating fine arts master’s students, and expands its horizons by taking part in the Biennale de Montréal and Le Mois de la photo
