DHC SESSION: AN ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF MODERN ART

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For art lovers, there’s nothing more exciting than a group show. In Montreal, with its thriving arts scene, we are quite fortunate to be able to discover new artists all the time. Group shows are fun because you can explore artists from various backgrounds, and learn about different kinds of art forms, whether it’s painting, sculpture or video, and see it all in the same space for a limited time. Either way, you have access to an array of original creations, giving you a chance to experience them all at once and meet other people into the arts scene. Last year, for instance, Montreal’s Contemporary Art Museum presented the first major retrospective of up-and-coming Quebec artists, and it quickly became one of the museum’s most successful events.

Read the full story for more details about this exceptional contemporary art happening.

I’VE ALREADY MENTIONED HOW MUCH I LOVE DHC/ART, an arts centre dedicated to contemporary local and international artists. This fall, from October 16 to November 22, DHC/ART is presenting DHC Session, a jam-packed program that includes an ongoing exhibition, a series of evening events and a reading lounge right in the gallery. Every year, they highlight Canadian and international artists under one theme, and invite acclaimed performers to come to Montreal to present their latest works.

This year’s inaugural theme is Living Time, and the invited artists are presenting artwork that analyzes our relationship with time, through a wide range of mediums and interpretations, bringing out essential questions about existence and survival.

Two artists will be featured at DHC/ART’s gallery in Old Montreal. The first is Taiwanese-American artist Tehching Hsieh with One Year Performances, whose fascinating personal explorations of time have been recorded in a monograph. For example, Hsieh once spent an entire year tethered to another person and they lived and worked attached at the waist without touching each other for the entire duration. He also spent a year NOT entering any kind of built structure, essentially living outdoors on the streets of New York for a year. The second featured artist is from Holland, Guido van der Werve, whose work, nummer acht: everything is going to be alright took him to northern Finland where he walked along an ice ridge followed by an icebreaker while the ground was literally giving way beneath his feet. In nummer negen: the day I didn’t turn with the world, we see him exploring another ice-covered environment at the geographic North Pole, slowly walking in a circle against the rotation of the planet.

Tehching Hsieh will start the evening talk series by discussing his work at DHC/ART, before a book signing session of his monograph Out of Now. Later this fall, Babette Mangolte will present Seven Easy Pieces, two projections about the work of a famous artist from the 60s and 70s, Marina Abramovic. On November 5, Canadian artist Kelly Mark will do an eight-hour talk and live performance inspired by the theme ‘Time for Survival’. People will be able to come and see her work in progress and interact with the artist to discuss her various projects. Finally, don’t miss the impressive dance show by Zab Maboungou, a Montreal-based dancer who, along with the company she founded, Nyata Nyata, pioneered African dance in Canada. This renowned contemporary artist and choreographer will be giving a solo performance.

Check out the full details about this exciting event, including complete schedules and rates, onDHC/ART’S WEBSITE.

PHOTO: nummer negen, the day I didn’t turn with the world, 8′48″ time-lapse photgraphy to HD video, the Geopgraphic North Pole 2007. Image by Ben Geraerts.

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