Papier 14 Montreal: Simon Hughes at Galerie Division

simon-hughes-enigma-of-the-woodpile-at-galerie-division

Enigma of the Woodpile
by Simon Hughes
38″x58″
watercolour, ink, and collage on paper
2014
Galerie Division, Montreal

From April 24 to 27, 2014, Montreal’s Contemporary Art Galleries Association (AGAC) presented the 7th edition of its Papier art fair, an annual event dedicated to works on all forms of paper. The fair’s specificity is a way to affirm Montreal’s place in the Canadian contemporary art market.

This year, 44 leading Canadian galleries participated, from which about half made the trip from outside the city. From among this massive amount of art on paper, the Kolaj editorial staff selected three galleries whose work featured collage: Galerie Division (Montreal), Susan Hobbs Gallery (Toronto), and Art Mûr (Montreal).

About Simon Hughes’ Enigma of the Woodpile, we wrote:

Although this work still uses the artist’s signature watercolour and collage pairing, it also marks a rupture with his earlier work. The wood logs that were once used to erect buildings in an utterly organized manner are now roughly placed in a pile or maybe the construction simply collapsed. Scattered through the heap, collaged objects, mostly borrowed from art history and pop culture suggest a reflection about art, its language and the ways to reaffirm its pertinence. Construction or deconstruction?

To read the entire article, purchase a subscription to Kolaj or purchase Issue Nine.