Jean-Pierre Gauthier Thorax 2010 Installation view Courtesy Jack Shainman Gallery New York
At the Gala des art visuels in Montreal last night, a number of Quebec artists, curators, gallerists and critics came away with awards.
Jean-Pierre Gauthier won the Prix Louis-Comptois for mid-career Montreal artists. Gauthier is known for mechanical and kinetic sculptures. He receives $7,500, plus $2,500 towards assistance for a solo exhibition. In 2004, Gauthier won the Sobey Art Award.
Jacynthe Carrier won the Prix Pierre-Ayot for younger Montreal artists. She receives $5,000 plus $2,500 to support a solo exhibition. Carrier—featured in the 2011 Quebec Triennial—is known for photographs and videos in which beautiful yet absurd scenarios unfold.
Best exhibition for a museum institution went to the Valérie Blass show at the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal. The MACM was also recognized for its 2011 Quebec Triennial.
John Zeppetelli of DHC/ART was named curator of the year. Over the award period, Zeppetelli curated “Chronicles of a Disappearance” and the first North American survey of Ryoji Ikeda.
Best private-gallery exhibition went to Parisian Laundry for its Alexandre David show; best artist-run centre show went to “Archi-féministes” at Optica; and gallerist of the year went to Joyce Yahouda.
Cooke-Sasseville edged out David Altmejd and Guillaume Lachapelle to win the Public Art Prize. Cooke-Sasseville’s Mélanger le tout is a massive sculpture of an egg beater installed outside of the Centre Jean-Claude Malépart in Montreal.
This was the second year for the awards gala, which combines presentations for some publicly funded awards with presentations for others that have been organized by members of Association des galeries d’art contemporain, among representatives of other groups.
Other award wins from the gala are currently listed on AGAC’s Twitter feed.
