Wilfrid Almendra: Light Boiled Like Liquid Soap

Fogo Island Arts presents a series of newly commissioned works by Wilfrid Almendra. The French-Portuguese artist’s first solo exhibition in Canada is an immersive installation featuring sculpture, radio transmission, and a series of objects that morph painting and drawing in an ambiguous play of transparency. Combining found and repurposed materials, the works on view attest to notions of desire and flux, from historic economies of exchange to the movement of people to global currents of ideas.

Wilfrid Almendra lives and works in Marseille, France. His work draws upon architectural influences found in the shapes and surfaces around us. Almendra brings together diverse sources and materials to create sculptures that reference the practices of hobbyists, cite the designs of major architects of the Modern era, and question social class divisions, labour and alternative economies. Recent solo exhibitions include Centre d’Art Les Églises, Chelles, France; Centre d’art Passerelle, Brest, France; and Fondation d’Entreprise Ricard, Paris (2014). In addition, his work has been included in numerous international exhibitions including at Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Villa Arson, Nice, France; Centre Pompidou, Metz, France; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; Klaipeda Art Center, Lithuania; Kunstmuseum Thurgau, Switzerland; Witte de With, Rotterdam; Ural Industrial Biennal of Contemporary Art and the National Center of Contemporary Art, Ekaterinburg Russia, among others. Almendra was an artist-in-residence with Fogo Island Arts in 2015.

Curators
Alexandra McIntosh (Director of Programs and Exhibitions, Fogo Island Arts) and Nicolaus Schafhausen (Director, Kunsthalle Wien and Strategic Advisor, Fogo Island Arts).

Publication
A forthcoming publication accompanies the exhibition, co-published by FIA and Sternberg Press (Berlin) and includes texts by Anne Faucheret and Nicolas Idier.

About Fogo Island Arts
Fogo Island Arts is a residency-based contemporary art venue that supports research and production of new work for artists, filmmakers, writers, musicians, curators, designers and thinkers from around the world. Since 2008, FIA has brought some of the most exciting emerging and renowned artists of today to Fogo Island, Newfoundland, Canada to take part in residencies and to present solo exhibitions at the Fogo Island Gallery. Combining contemporary art, iconic architecture and social innovation in a singular setting, FIA is a world-class institution that is uniquely rooted in community.

Gratitude is extended to Mécènes du Sud, Fondation Nationale des Arts Graphiques et Plastiques (FNAGP) and the Shorefast Foundation for generously supporting this exhibition. Fogo Island Arts graciously acknowledges its Patrons, Partners and Friends for their essential support of FIA residencies, programs and exhibitions.   

Contact
T + 1 709 266 1248 / info [​at​] fogoislandarts.ca