Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Untitled (Perfect Lovers), 1991, 14 x 28 x 2.75 inches, MoMA

Love expressed through art in unexpectedly poignant ways

Love is a universal theme that has been explored in art since antiquity. Contemporary artistic representations of love are not always easy to decipher so to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, we are delving into several pieces that touch on this multifaceted emotion in unexpectedly poignant ways.

Felix Gonzales-Torres’ conceptual piece, Untitled (Perfect Lovers) explores the act of being in love as well as love’s imperfect nature. Two clocks placed side-by-side work in perfect synchronization and their continuous ticking represents a shared heartbeat. Slowly over time, they fall out of sync and, eventually, their batteries die before being re-set to begin the process once again. Torres’ work metaphorically represents his own personal relationship with his partner who tragically died of AIDS. The clocks speak to the harrowing feeling of running out of time. The gradual falling out of sequence, and ultimate malfunction evokes devastating loss.

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John Baldessari, Valentine, 2015, 38 × 34 inches, edition of 50

In John Baldessari’s 2015 screenprint Valentine, the artist inscribes an arrow on a pre-existing fashion photograph of supermodel Kendall Jenner. The arrow represents Cupid’s signature accessory that the fictitious character uses to strike people and, in turn, makes them fall in love unexpectedly. Baldessari’s graffiti is at once playful and strategic, as the arrow strikes through Jenner’s bodice that is contoured by her garment’s neckline in a way that makes it resemble a heart shape.

Louise Bourgeois, 10 am is When You Come to Me, 2008, 98 x 108 inches, Tate Museum

Louise Bourgeois’ piece, 10 AM is When You Come to Me, portrays a series of hands rendered in different tones of red that are continuously reaching towards each other in space. The hands belong to Bourgeois and her assistant Jerry Gorovoy, whom she trusted and loved deeply. The colour red evokes the warmth, passion and emotional intensity of their love. The piece’s title refers to the time of the morning when Gorovoy would arrive at the artist’s studio to commence their workday together.

Unlike artworks such as Auguste Rodin’s famous sculpture The Kiss, Robert Indiana’s widely recognized pop LOVE images or Jim Dine’s signature hearts, the pieces discussed evoke the theme of love in more conceptual and obscure ways that may take a bit more time and effort to fully comprehend.

Robert Indiana and Fernando Botero sculptures at LHotel, Old Montreal

Art in Hotels

Travellers looking to immerse themselves in culture and the arts instinctually flock to museums. The increasing trend of hotels doubling as public gallery spaces, however, allows visitors to view high-quality art by simply booking a stay. Instead of purchasing decorative art en masse from manufacturing companies, establishments are adopting a more discerning eye in terms of what graces their walls and lobbies.

Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst at the Gramercy Park Hotel, NYC

The Gramercy Park Hotel in NYC is a great example, as it boasts a fabulous collection replete with artwork by the likes of Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, George Condo, Julian Schnabel, among others. Miami is another city with an array of hotels featuring stunning collections, notably the Sagamore Hotel in South Beach known for its rotating exhibitions of museum quality art year-round. To our fellow Montrealers, if you are looking to stay local, check out LHotel in Old Montreal, a boutique hotel filled with 20th-century art where passersby are greeted with impressive large-scale Robert Indiana and Fernando Botero sculptures.

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The art hotel trend is not only limited to obvious cultural hubs. 21c Museum Hotels is a quickly growing chain that aims to bring the art experience to luxury accommodations in so-called second-tier cities with locations in Cincinnati, Kansas City, Louisville, and Nashville. The brand is particularly focused on filling their common areas and private rooms with ultra-contemporary, cutting-edge artwork by both emerging and recognized 21st-century artists.

21c Museum Hotel, Durham

For your up-coming holiday travels, do some research into hotels that combine hospitality and culture!

Alex Katz painting in the lobby of the Langham Place, NYC

Set against a bright colourful background adorned with intricate ornamentation sits a poised African American individual. The manner in which the figure sits or stands is familiar. The subject is unflinching, meeting whatever gaze wanders upon their painterly face. Kehinde Wiley’s unique compositions are immediately recognizable.

Wiley’s inspiration draws from classical European painting, which typically captures the drama and triumph of a particular moment. These illustrations of history are retold and monumentalized in textbooks, museums and, most importantly, subconsciously, profoundly influencing who we are as Westerners today.

Yet, this particular strand of art history is notoriously intertwined with a racist rhetoric that has systematically excluded people of colour, along with other non-white groups of people. What happens then, when Wiley appropriates the traditional iconography of European painting with contemporary black figures such as Obama, Ice T, Spike Lee or the Harlem passerby?

(Left) Kehinde Wiley, Portrait of Kea Loha Mahuta II, oil on linen, 2019 (Right) Édouard Manet, Olympia, oil on canvas, 1863

The answer is complicated, which is why Wiley’s pieces have become so popular and sought after as conversations surrounding decolonization and gender equality proliferate in the media. Wiley employs the ability of paintings to mythologize people, places and events, a considerate feat seeing as history has systemically attempted to eradicate non-white bodies. As seen in classical art, where non-white individuals are depicted as objects, never subjects.

Wiley embellishes his portraits with flowers and golden details which is reminiscent of interior design and craft, mediums that are traditionally associated with femininity. This artistic choice is meant to question the troubling gender dichotomy, a split that attempts to hyper-masculinize men and legitimizes the disenfranchisement of women.

Wiley gained notoriety in 2015 when he was granted a solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum untitled, Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic. In 2018, he was commissioned to paint President Barack Obama for the President’s Collection at the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery in Washington.

This month, Wiley released a new print, entitled, Head of a Young Girl Veiled, 2019 where all proceeds will go to “Black Rock”, an artist residency program in Senegal.

Kehinde Wiley, Head of a Young Girl Veiled, 2019, archival ink, Edition of 30.

Vincent van Gogh, Self-portrait with Bandaged Ear, 1889, Oil on canvas, 24 x 20 inches

Mental Health Day: October 10th

October 10 marks world mental health day which invites a discussion about society’s long-time fascination with mental illness’ pervasiveness in the arts. From Van Gogh infamously cutting off his own ear to present day artist Yayoi Kusama voluntarily living and working in a psychiatric asylum, it is easy to find validity in the clichéd trope of the genius artist plagued with madness. In truth, however, the notion that creative types tend to have mental disabilities is largely unsubstantiated.

What is noteworthy concerning mental health’s intersection with the arts is the use of art as a form of therapy. Professionals are increasingly turning to creative techniques such as drawing, painting, collage-making and sculpting to help patients artistically express themselves in the hopes of better understanding their feelings and behaviours. Art therapy has proven to improve self-esteem, manage addictions, relieve stress and help alleviate anxiety and depression.

Aside from creating artwork, a new dimension of art therapy is emerging that promotes the simple act of viewing artwork as a legitimate form of mental health treatment. A partnership between the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and a group of local doctors has launched a pilot project that involves prescribing patients with a trip to the museum. Art’s ability to stimulate neural activity, release hormones and offer escapism is believed to benefit patients suffering from mental illnesses as well as a variety of other health conditions.

What a delight to be offered a prescription free of risky side effects with an added bonus to get a dose of culture.

To many, graffiti and street art conjures up nothing more than images of pesky, rebellious teens armed with aerosol cans used to de-face public venues in the middle of the night.

Sherman and Kruger boldly made their voices heard in a vastly male-dominated arena

Cindy Sherman and Barbara Kruger are two seminal feminist figures in art history who fortuitously share the same birthday month of January. To celebrate the occasion, we would like to highlight both women’s significant contribution to the arts through their unique subversive artistic oeuvres.

Emerging on the art scene in the late 70s, Cindy Sherman engages in a photographic practice that explores identity, sexuality and femininity. Boldly assuming the roles of both photographer and subject, Sherman transforms herself into a glossary of poses, outfits, and costumes that emulate various female stereotypes and characters. Her authoritative and self-conscious control over her images appropriates the ‘male gaze’ that haunts the canon of art history.

Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 1981, Chromogenic color print, 24 x 48 inches

Cindy Sherman, Untitled #592, 2017, Dye sumblimation metal print, 41.5 x 36.5 inches

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Around the same time, Barbara Kruger developed her signature artistic method of using found images as backdrops against which she inscribes brief, but provocative, statements. Her tongue-in-cheek satirical captions customarily include pronouns that directly confront and involve the viewer with the aim of interrogating contemporary societal norms rooted in patriarchal conventions. She employs capital letters and the colour red to emphasize the boldness and gravity of her words.

Barbara Kruger, Surveillance, 1983, Color lithograph, 11 x 28 inches

Barbara Kruger, Untitled (My face is your fortune), 1982, Photographic montage, 10.5 x 7 inches

Both Sherman and Kruger played integral roles in carving out a space for women artists in the mainstream artworld, validating female perspectives in a vastly male-dominated field. They have continued to produce artwork throughout the decades and remain more relevant than ever. Both artists have been the subject of major exhibitions at prestigious galleries and institutions and their work is highly sought after by collectors globally.

If you are interested in acquiring artwork by either of these iconic female artists, please contact us.