March 7–10, 2013
Booth 1.37
Volta NY
82 Mercer/ SoHo
New York, NY 10013
www.voltashow.com
www.galerieantoineertaskiran.com
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Social and political history is at the heart of Dominique Blain’s work. Her art is a critical and imaginative reflection of—and a commentary on—contemporary society.
Her ongoing project Mindscapes tackles the issue of human rights through carefully constructed images whose provocative content defy their apparently innocuous form. The traditional Afghan design motif of Rug is composed of the myriad shapes of anti-personnel landmines. When Rug appears in a digitally manipulated image, it is strategically placed in the Oval Office in protest of the US government’s nonsignature of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. In the video Buddha from the Kabul Museum, the stone head of a Buddha gazes intensely at passing viewers, an empty gaze replaced by the artist’s own questioning eyes. In another image, the Buddha of the Bamiyan valley is replaced by the image of an Afghan woman wearing a burka. At the time of these Buddhas’ destruction, international opinion strongly condemned the act, considering it almost worse than the Taliban’s intolerance towards women who continue to be victims of their oppression.
By subtly subverting reality, Blain brings into focus the tragedy behind her works. Her visual vocabulary draws one into her process of questioning, allowing the viewer to participate non-confrontationally in a dialogue on the nature of war, human rights and freedom of speech. Her particular interest lies in the perception of the real. The subjects she examines are, for the most part, universal in nature and always call into question our privileged and unique role as witnesses.
Dominique Blain lives and works in Montreal, Canada. Her work has been shown across North America, as well as in Europe and Australia (Sydney Biennale, 1992). She has had three major retrospective exhibitions: at Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal in 2004; Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec in 1998; and in 1997–1998, the Contemporary Art Centre Arnolfini in Bristol presented her work in five UK institutions. Her art has been shown in numerous museums: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Portland Museum of Art; Kunstverein, Frankfurt; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; and Louisiana Museum, Copenhagen. In Quebec, she participated in three editions of Les Cent Jours d’art contemporain, and presented her work at Galerie de l’UQAM.
Dominique Blain is represented by galerie antoine ertaskiran, a contemporary art gallery based in Montreal. The gallery focuses on emerging and established Canadian and international artists.
Contact Antoine or Anne for more information or press inquiries: info@galerieantoineertaskiran.com or
T +1 514 989 7886.
galerie antoine ertaskiran
1892 rue Payette
Montréal, QC H3J 1P3
T +1 514 989 7886
info [at] galerieantoineertaskiran.com
www.galerieantoineertaskiran.com
