From June 6 through August 30, 2024, the Espace VERRE gallery will present FRAGMENTS D’EXISTENCE the exhibition featuring the works of the 33rd group of graduates of the fine craft – glass option programme offered in collaboration with the Cégep du Vieux Montréal. Following 3-years of studying, discovering and exploring the various glass art techniques, this event will mark the professional debut of Marc-André Dufour, Martin Nawrocki, Anton Pettigrew, Maria Spanakis and Patrick Tétreault.

Through its complexed and capricious nature, glass reflects Marc-André Dufour’s angsts and doubts. He expresses his vulnerability and self questionings with precise and applied movements when he blows glass, sculpts flameworked borosilicate glass and creates pâte de verre works. By proposing pieces with hidden meanings, he hopes to re-ignite forgotten discussions.

Martin Nawrocki is in search of the fleeting magic that we see out of the corner of our eye as children, and which fades away if we do not pursue it. Initially trained in science, he now translates his reality through the visual arts. By favoring kiln working and hot glass techniques, he fully explores their unpredictable nature. For him, it is this element of uncertainty that makes the creative process enriching. He likes surprises and the appearance of unexpected optical effects as they strike his imagination. From his creations, there often emerges the impressions of solidity and anchoring. Through this strength, he invites the public to approach his work without fear: first with the eyes, the hands, and then with the soul.

Anton Pettigrew explores the duality between order and chaos through his experiments with various materials, while highlighting the fragility of creation and the order that emerges from confusion. He is also interested in a human-ecosystem interaction, representing the complexity of our impact on nature through glass, ceramics and recycled materials. In his work, he uses glass blowing, kiln working, ceramic molding and sculpting, as well as occasionally incorporating digital arts. His intention is to encourage viewers to meditate on the dualities of human existence, while offering them a renewed appreciation of contemporary life and society.

For Maria Spanakis, glass is the ideal medium for representing the fragmented self, the shame and the vulnerability of a child deprived of a balanced relationship with a maternal figure. This captures the internalized anguish which continues into adulthood. Her creative curiosity was initiated from her fascination with the shapes created by the shadows projected on the walls and ceiling of her childhood bedroom. Now, this is stimulated by the sharp, straight angles of the geometric shadows, which remind her of the art of origami. Under the simple effect of an external constraint imposed by the artist, the folded paper is transformed into a sculpture, becoming a metaphor for the emotions felt by young women in search of their identity. Her origami inspired glass works evoke the fragility and anguish felt by these women as they reach adulthood.

Favoring working with blown glass, neon and plasma, Patrick Tétreault seeks to reveal the invisible realm that is woven into our existence. While doing this, he is exploring the interstices where material subtly dances and captures the light that exposes these imperceptible areas. Each creation is an invitation to look beyond the obvious, to perceive the murmurs and intangible forces that shape our reality and our relationships. One of his works, made of cast iron and neon, merges the past and the present, offering a reflection on the human condition and the continuity of emotions through time.

Espace VERRE is a glass creativity centre located at 1200 Mill Street in Montreal. The gallery is open from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., as well as the last Sunday of each month from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free of charge.

 

Photo: Zou Desbiens
Graphic Design: BERGER.studio

Source:
Marina Dobel
Executive Director
direction@espaceverre.qc.ca
514-933-6849