MÉTRO BORDUAS, The Underground Landscapeof Abstract Art in Montréal

November 22 to December 19, 2006
www.metroborduas.concordia.ca

Montréal, November 15, 2006 – The Faculty of Fine Arts (FOFA) Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of Métro Borduas, starting November 22, 2006. The exhibition will feature the work of Paul-Émile Borduas and 12 prominent artists who were his contemporaries, rivals and successors. Joining together the métro underground transport system with key works of art, Métro Borduas will encourage viewers to consider the role that artists have played in the shaping of the city of Montréal in the last 50 years. The exhibition is an initiative of Concordia University’s Art History graduate students, working in partnership with the FOFA Gallery, the Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian Art and the Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery. The works for this exhibition were selected from the latter’s collection.

Tying the exhibition together is the artist Paul-Émile Borduas (1905-1960). A mythic figure in Canadian art, Borduas paid a steep price for rebelling against tradition and authority in the conservative Duplessis era. In 1948, Borduas and his students drafted the historic manifesto Refus global, setting off a chain of events that would revolutionize the arts in Québec.

To enhance the learning opportunity of this exhibition, the graduate students will host a public symposium to discuss Borduas’ legacy on the arts and culture of Québec. This event will be held on November 26 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the EV Building, lecture hall 1-605, Concordia University, 1515 Ste. Catherine Street West (between Guy and Mackay streets).

The exhibition will be on view in the FOFA Gallery, EV Building, 1-715, from November 22 to December 19, 2006. The vernissage will take place on December 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the FOFA Gallery, and will be followed by a public talk by Dr. François-Marc Gagnon at 7:30 p.m. in lecture hall 1-605. This conference is open to all, but since seating space is limited, RSVPs are required for those wishing to attend.
RSVP: Sarah Ciurysek, 514-848-2424 ext 2293, sciuryse@alcor.concordia.ca