Exhibition “LES GARDIENS” May 23 to August 1, 2024
Les Gardiens is an installation that uses the forest as a visual metaphor to explore concepts of self and community. The installation is composed of recycled cardboard sculptures accompanied by canvases. As you enter the world of Les Gardiens, you are enveloped by a cardboard forest and become part of the installation.
The sculptures, with their delicate curves and verticality, evoke the singularity of each being within its community. Together, they form an interdependent community that transcends individual boundaries. At the heart of this installation, L’Ancêtre stands as a symbolic anchor, carrying the weight of time. Its imposing presence stretches skywards, with the video projection of the forest canopy unfolding above. The Wave introduces the visual of the projection. Human silhouettes move harmoniously, forming a fluid wave that recalls the curves of the sculptures. Each body represents an individual, the self, and the wave they form represents the cohesion of a community. This visual composition underlines the delicate balance between individuality and collaboration in our society.
The paintings that accompany this sensory experience add a pictorial dimension to the dialogue between the sculptures and the projection. The colors and shapes harmonize with the three-dimensional environment, creating a visual synergy that intensifies the emotional impact of the whole.
Through Les Gardiens, the artist invites us to explore our own identity within the human and natural community. It’s an immersive experience that transcends the boundaries of traditional art, prompting visitors to reflect on their ephemeral passage through this interconnected world.
Date and time:
From May 23 to August 1st, 2024
Opening Thursday May 23
Monday to Friday
From 9am to 1pm and from 2pm to 5pm
Location: Ground floor of the CCFM, just past the entrance to Stella’s
Biography
Patricia Lortie was born in Quebec. She studied industrial design and business administration in Montreal. In 1995, she moved to Calgary and studied at the University of Alberta Arts.
Her practice includes painting, sculpture, installation and art education. She exhibits in commercial and public galleries across Canada.
In 2010, she represented Alberta at the Vancouver Olympics Cultural Olympiad. In 2021, she was part of Présence des Femmes, an exhibition of important francophone women artists from Western Canada. In 2022, she participated in the Symposium international d’art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul in Quebec. Her installation Les Gardiens is currently touring public galleries in Western Canada.
She has been teaching art and mentoring young artists for twenty years, both in her studio and for various arts organizations in Western Canada.
Raised by nature-loving parents who encouraged freedom, Lortie came into communion with the natural world during childhood. The family cottage in Notre-Dame-de-Pierreville was her first encounter with water and the forest. It was here that she developed the foundations of her visual, emotional and intellectual universe.
Today, she continues to draw on her encounters with nature to fuel her artistic explorations.
