Current @ the Arsenal

Mega contemporary art space Arsenal, will be holding its closing event of Current, a street art exhibit curated by Alejandro Figueroa.  The weeklong show invited local and international street artists to create their works in a gallery setting, allowing visitors to view the works in progress.
I stopped by earlier in the week to scope out some of the pieces.

Iron getting the signage under way

Crates full of blue chip art served as a set. Kevin Ledo's gold leaf star seen in the background

Art crating and moving has always fascinated me.  Herein lies a Franz West.

Getting up close to Ledo's gold detritus

Ledo working it out

This is the second out of three large format portraits that Ledo is mounting

Labrona working on his signature faces

Labrona set up a series of barrels in the loading ramp, coming to life with his imagery

Alexis Diaz is back! A crosshatched heart is starting to come through.

For those who don't want to splurge on some art at the moment, stamps representative of each artist were created so you can take home a freebie.

The dirty business of art. Ledo and Zoltan illustrate.

For a full list of the artists involved check out here, or go see it in person!

bright lights

1. grill and neon lights at Le Chalet on Mont Royal

2. a very pink bar at Dulcedo's 5th anniversary bash last fall

3. sculptural light table at Arsenal during SS14 shows

Toqué!

One of Montreal's most celebrated restaurants Toqué! is marking it's 20th anniversary with it's first book Toqué! Les artisans d'une gastronomie Québecoise/Creators of a new Québec gastronomy (éditions du passage).  The book launch took place at the very cavernous Arsenal art complex, complete with tasty snacks and purveyors of wine. Yum!

 The massive space used to be a shipyard and now houses the works of two galleries (René Blouin, Division Gallery) and a private collection; all while acting as a host to a variety of events.

Some bites were provided by the Grumman '78 and Nouveau Palais food trucks.  Long lineups ensued.

The very lauded Chef Normand Laprise and his associate Christine Lamarche packed the mighty hardcover not only with the restaurant's unique recipes but also with tales of the journeys from the farms and rivers to the kitchen and on your table.

Photographer Dominique Malaterre shot all the accompanying images for the book; from the atmospheric to drool-worthy.
Above left: a river view at Kamouraska and right: an apple and vanilla grass cocktail.