When diverse art forms come together, the symbiosis produces an exciting creative experience. Such is the case with a one-of-a-kind hybrid exhibition on portrait.

At once a literary and a visual presentation, it is made up of forty self-portraits and eleven corresponding texts. While showcasing artistic talent, this event also has a strong didactic component, focusing on new trends in pedagogy, with stress on interdisciplinary approach and professional development. In this interesting experiment, art historians worked directly with emerging artists in the production of the texts, with the intention of placing the art of portraiture in a wider historical and cultural context. The goal was twofold: to open up dialogue on the history of the portrait, and on the value of the book as an enduring form of visual expression.

Creatively and intellectually challenging, the works on display are as compelling as portraits always are.

The works in this hybrid exhibition have been produced in written and drawn/painted format, thus opening a dialogue between “artist (creator) and art historian (observer)”. Creatively and intellectually challenging, the works on display are as compelling as portraits always are. Forty-seven self-portraits and eleven corresponding texts make up Self/Portrait/Text—the book and the display. The many faces, and the diversity of visual expression, find their narrative alter ego, as it were, on the pages of the publication.

Self/Portrait/Text
Z Art Space Gallery, Montreal
June 20—June 25, 2014