Location One is pleased to present Somnambulic, the first New York solo exhibition by Canadian artist Martin Beauregard. This new body of work highlights persistent themes for the artist revolving around the relation between dream, illusion, and reality. It also produces a “fantastical strangeness” that is characteristic of Beauregard’s work, as he explores modes of perception through play and creation. Featured works trigger a poetical and deliberate confusion between cuddly toys and dead animals, between play-acting and deadly hunting rites. Confronting the world of childhood fantasy and the harsh brutality of game hunting causes a shift in meaning, a displacement of signs and symbols that create unsettling tension.
Wake Up Teddy! is a giant stuffed toy whose fur is made from the real skin of a bear: reality and fiction coming together in one object. Jewel in the Head shows a trophy-like moose whose horns have been plated in silver, namely the materialization of the symbol of victory. These works mirror the double nature of each individual’s perception of reality
The hunting theme carries over to the series of photographs entitled Old Boys that show groups of hunters proudly displaying their “kill” in a dreamlike, eerie and ghostly atmosphere.
The exhibition also includes video projections of past performance pieces and the more recent Lotus (3 minute video loop), a visual poem through which the artist contemplates the connection between the physical world and the sublime/absolute.
Martin Beauregard studied at the l'Université du Québec at Abitibi-Témiscamingue. He also received the Diplôme National Supérieur from the École des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux . Since 2000 his work has been featured in solo shows in his native country and in numerous group shows in France, Canada and the U.S. In 2004-2005 he participated in Location One’s International Residency Program.
On Wednesday, December 7th at 7pm there will be an Artist Talk featuring a conversation between Martin Beauregard and Nathalie Anglès, Director of Location One’s International Residency Program. This event is free and open to the public.
Location One thanks the Cultural Services of the Quebec Government House, the Canada Council for the Arts for their support of this exhibition.
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