“Three grand artists, one shockwave” was the slogan at the opening of the new art exposition last Wednesday at the Museum of Contemporary Art. The title couldn’t be more fitting, as the works of Valérie Blass, Ghada Amer, and Wangechi Mutu impose an impressive presense, showcasing their latest masterpieces in three exhibitions that reflect their unique personas. Their over-the-top and otherworldly visuals are crafted works of the imagination and a feast for the eyes and soul of art enthusiasts.
The museum was abuzz with the sounds of conversation, music, and the clinking of wine glasses as dozens gathered to take a first look at the works of these esteemed female artists. Guests made their way through the various areas of the exhibitions, alternating between different artistic worlds.
Wagechi Mutu touched on issues of sexuality, femininity, and politics envisioned in an African and Western context. Her works attempted to establish new conventional norms to undermine existing stereotypes portrayed in the media and the seemingly biased understanding of the world vis-à-vis a Western-dominated society. The works reflect a strong chemistry between living organisms, human beings, and the power of nature through a surrealist hybridization of female figures with animal prints, textures, and stylized bodies. Her repeated use of mixed media collages and delicate colour palettes illustrate hallucinatory and larger-than-life portraits of outlandish female representations that juxtapose the ideas of empowerment and femininity. The centerpiece of her exhibition, entitled “Moth Girls,” includes rows of hundreds of half-insect, half-female ceramic figurines with leather wings and feather antennae attached directly to a wall. It evokes a strange and visually overwhelming beauty, reflecting the sad hierarchy established by human beings.
Adjacent to the exhibition was Ghada Amer’s collection. Amer’s works serve to challenge artistic norms and beliefs in the context of sensuality and autoeroticism through the use of embroidery against rendered female pornographic images that range in colour and scale. Her use of coloured threads sewn on top of repeated pornographic figures on large canvasses create a layered aesthetic and inspire contradictory feelings. Questions of eroticism and of cultural norms are striking; her work challenges conventional workmanship through electrifying visuals, such as her most notable piece, “Revolution 2.0,” a dazzling explosion of kaleidoscopic colours spiraling from the centre of a massive canvas. Her bold use of provocative imagery and contrast of monochromatic rendering with brightly coloured and technical embroidery create pieces that are visually challenging yet beautiful in their ambiguity.
Quebec’s Valérie Blass concludes the exposition by demonstrating her own revolutionary sculptures. Blass has pioneered a unique artistic approach to sculpturing by traversing classical traditions of sculpture and incorporating diverse mass-produced materials as part of her media. Her approach has been termed “anachronic contemporary.” Her materials, found in antique shops, flea markets, and hardware stores, were used to create free-standing human-scale sculptures. Many of her works are optical illusions and their hybrid forms evoke wonderment similar to the imaginary creatures found in fantasy novels. The range of different aesthetics demonstrates her versatility as an artist, as her sculptures include a three-metre high monolithic creation, to two ceramic bottom-half figures intertwined against a mirror.
Together these unique and talented artists break down perpetuated notions of female stereotypes, sexuality, and artistic traditions through a resonant collection of works.
All three exhibitions run until April 22 at the Museum of Contemporary Art (185 St. Catherine). Visit www.macm.org for more information.
