Recent Acquisitions Exhibition
From October 28, 2006, to March 25, 2007

Montréal, November 7, 2006. The annual vino novello won’t be the only new arrival this fall. From October 28, 2006, to March 25, 2007, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal is presenting its latest harvest: Recent Acquisitions, an all new exhibition featuring works purchased or donated over the past two years.

It’s a vintage selection according to Musée Director and curator Marc Mayer. The Musée has combed galleries, art fairs and artist’s studios in search of the very best in contemporary creation. The result has been purchases of exceptional works by artists from all over the world, in a wide range of media. They include pieces by Nicolas Baier, Gwenaël Bélanger, Carlos and Jason Sanchez, Karel Funk, Cynthia Girard, Trevor Gould, Isabelle Hayeur, Candida Höfer, Euan MacDonald, Liz Magor, Vik Muniz, Roxy Paine, Guy Pellerin, Ron Terada, Claude Tousignant, Chih-Chien Wang, Shirley Wiitasalo and Kevin Yates. The earliest work is dated 2004, so the show represents these artists’ very latest research. Moreover, the brilliant reconstruction of Van Gogh’s Irises by Vic Muniz, the acrylic portrait of his brother by Karel Funk – whose work has been called “spiritual” by the New York Times – and the heroically pure colours of Claude Tousignant offer a foretaste of things to come, since the Musée will be presenting solo exhibitions of each of these artists’ work in 2007 and 2008.

The crop of donations is equally spectacular, consisting of major gifts from a number of dedicated collectors. One gallery contains four breathtaking works by Jacques Hurtubise, donated by Patrice and Andrée Drouin; also on view, a superlative group of thirty gelatin silver prints by Charles Gagnon, gifted by Michiko Yajima Gagnon; a Geneviève Cadieux, from her series of immaterial landscapes presented by Pierre Bourgie; a coveted stained-glass work by Marcelle Ferron, donated by Jacques Guèvremont; a fabulous Claude Tousignant, from the collection of Dr. Crépeau; and an exuberant piece by Serge Murphy, presented by an anonymous donor. Donations by artists themselves, wellspring of the Musée’s creation, still represent the foundation of the Collection. Taras Polataiko has recently given us his irreverent Lucio Fontana ‘Spatial Concept Attesa,’ included in the exhibition Current Appearances, and Ian Wallace has donated his piece In the Street (Tom), created in 1989 for an exhibition at the Maison de la culture in Saint-Étienne, France.

As Marc Mayer explains, he has arranged the sixty or so works selected from among the Musée’s recent acquisitions in loosely associated groupings. While not encompassing the full range of the Musée’s recent acquisitions, the exhibition nonetheless offers an up-to-the-minute view of current art.

Meeting with the Director

As part of the Point(s) of View Series, the Musée’s Director and curator of the exhibition, Marc Mayer, will present the exhibition to members of the public on Wednesday, November 22, 2006, at 6 p.m. (in French) and 7 p.m. (in English). Marie-France Bérard, educator in charge of tours at the Musée, will moderate the event.

Art Videos

During the exhibition’s run, the Musée will be screening videos on some of the artists in the Gazoduc-TQM Room, Tuesday to Sunday at 11:30 a.m., 1:30 and 3:30 p.m., and Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m.

January 8 to February 4, 2007: Worst Possible Illusion: The Curiosity Cabinet of Vik Muniz (Direction: Anne-Marie Russell, 2004. New York: Mixed Greens, 56 min).

February 5 to March 4, 2007: Une entrevue avec Geneviève Cadieux (Direction: MACM, Montréal, 1993, 18 min) and Marcelle Ferron (Direction: MACM, Montréal, 2000, 20 min).

March 5 to April 1, 2007: Hurtubise (Direction: Cinéma Libre, Montréal, 1992, 47 min).

April 2 to May 6, 2007: Guy Pellerin : ici et ailleurs (Direction: MACM, Montréal, 1993, 16 min) and Cynthia Girard : fictions sylvestres (Direction: MACM, Montréal, 2005, 10 min).

The MACM is a provincially owned corporation funded by the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec. It receives additional funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Canada Council for the Arts.

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Source and information: Danielle Legentil                                                       
Media Relations Officer              
Tel.: (514) 847-6232       
E-mail: danielle.legentil@macm.org