Art Review: Eric Cardinal and Jocelyn Philibert at Galerie [sas]

Until March 5, 2011 Eric Cardinal presents Histoires?áimprobables and Jocelyn Philibert shows Dans la nuit at Galerie?á[sas]?áin the Belgo Building, at 372 St Catherine Street in Montreal.

I was initially lured into this exhibition by a pencil on paper drawing that bore an?áorganic title and appearance. Fungus no. 2, upon further examination, proved to be composed of a repeated and overlapped?áMickey Mouse motif. Eric Cardinal‘s work in Histoires?áimprobables is a range of drawings and sculpture that uses “pop culture” and other findings that may (or may not) be disposable. In his artist statement, he only alludes to his drawings a tiny bit while talking about his sculpture. “… these manipulations seem to be able to initiate a second step in my production where shapes and textures rendered can then be expressed in other materials.”?á

Whichever came first, the sculpture or the drawings;?áboth speak of a longing for nature and its forms, twisted with a sense of humour. The drawings?áappeared to be of one of two types. Organic,?ámorphing ones (like?áFungus no.2, which initially drew me into the gallery) were my personal favorites. I’d truly not seen anything like them before, and they held my attention and imagination?álong after I’d realised what the elements in them all were. The?áother?ásort of drawing?áwas something like a fractured, fragmented view of two (or more) simultaneous pictures, usually done in ink. The result of this?áwas something like a jagged checker-board, or a woven paper effect. These were not as evocative?áor luring as the softer, more evolved, pencil?ádrawings.?áI was left with the impression that they were part of the process, and that’s cool.

The sculpture?áwas like?ápop-culture, plastic tree growths. Colourful, playful, beautiful, and somewhat tragic. They melded plain objects (pencils, household items) with repeated?áDonald Duck or other Disney characters, and finally colourful?ápolyurethane to make these oddities.?áNote that when I say oddities, I mean original, cool, and tasty art-pieces.?á

The paintings (oops sorry about that) photographs in Jocelyn Philibert‘s exhibition Dans la nuit are a stunning study of both trees and?ávisual-planes. Philibert photographs trees, or scenes that include trees, at night.?áHe illuminates the scenes from the?áfront,?áboldly. The work?ábears a?ásense of?ámetaphor and theatricality,?áowing much?áto the drama of the artificial lighting, as well as the often isolated subject (tree).

My initial reaction to this work?áwas a sense of awe, a feeling of seeing drawings set in nature, drawings by Nature itself. It seemed more real than real.

The next thing I noticed was how the foreground plane comes forward; more so than with naturally lit subjects. I?áwas reminded of layers of oil in an oil painting, layered plexiglass paintings, and even 3-D Cinema.

Philibert’s Lone Tree is elevated (as in much of Canadian art) to a heroic place; it becomes a Being,?áa reason for portraiture. Think of Tom Thomson’s The Jack Pine. Think of Rodney Graham. Think of Jocelyn Philibert.

Natasha Henderson, Montreal. The two exhibitions finish up on March 5th, so hurry down to see them. Galerie?á[sas] 372 St Catherine West, open Monday-Friday 9-5, Saturday 12-5.