The 8-Day Week of Renata Morales

One of my most favourite places on earth, the Centre Phi (and the DHC of course) announced that they will be having a series of guest-curated events by some of Montreal's creatives.  The list included filmmaker Xavier Dolan, designer Rad Hourani and Vice co-founder Suroosh Alvi.  First up to bat was designer and all around visually inclined phenomena, Renata Morales who flexed her creative muscles showcasing a pop-up shop, projections, seven nights of partying and a treasure hunt for limited edition posters. 

 getting up close to Renata's work

the pop-up shop featured designers like Arielle de Pinto, Denis Gagnon, and Complex Geometries
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Inside Morales' head: a tinky-winky greets visitors
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Alex Hercule's bear and Joe Becker paintings

foxtrott takes the stage during the closing night

karneef and a ghostly morales clad projection

Saturday Art

This morning I woke up with the urge for some Saturday art.  My most favorite gallery in town HANDS DOWN would have to be the DHC/Art Foundation-I have never been disappointed with a show curated here.  One memorable moment for me was during the John Currin exhibit when one of the security guards gave his insight of several paintings and directed us to the basement level where visitors can watch archived artist talks. Nice!

Above is the guide image of the current exhibit (as image taking is not allowed), featuring a still from Philippe Parreno's June 8, 1968 (2009) short film shot on 70mm(!)
While I can rave about the whole show, a standout for me was Taryn Simon's An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar (2007), a series of documentary photographs accompanied with a short text of the back stories that recontextualize our understanding of the image.  The viewer is presented with "the realms of science, government, security, religion and nature, [and] unveils that which is foundational to America's functioning and mythology." (From the guide.)

You have until the May 13, 2012 to go! Get your art on!

I leave you with this charming stencil of beach ball play on St-Pierre street.