Architect Jean Verville continues his investigations on the interbreeding between art and architecture to imagine a sumptuous scenography that enhances the refined appearance of the most recent ceramic sculptures by artist France Goneau and glorifies the architecture of the neo-Gothic church that houses the Musée des maîtres et artisans du Québec.

Artist in residence at the famous Quebec’s Studio in New York from January to June 2018, France Goneau initiates some research on beautification by directing her reflection on beauty and transformation of the body and examining artifices and their ramifications, positive and negative, that shape this feminine mystique. With her new production of body ornaments, the artist deals with the feminine identity and the constraints associated with it, evoking as much the standards of feminine perfection and seduction, both a familiar and elusive territory, as fortuitous encounters brightening up her daily journey between Soho, where she resides, and Sculpture Space NYC studio in Queens, where she works. Prostheses, postiches, carcanets and other accessories testify to a personal and nuanced observation of a feminine identity, the cultures, traditions and protocols that structure them, as well as the incapacity felt towards them. With these seductive and unclassifiable adornments, France Goneau declaims a serenade whispering its secrets on the unfathomable pinkness of femininity.

The exhibition scenography elaborated by architect Jean Verville unveils these body ornaments in an ensemble finely conjugated to this feminine universe where control, expression of identity and social convention are transformed into sweet agony. In the tone of opulence specific to embellishment, the presentation offers a look at coquetry, elegance and refinement to arouse many speculations. Illustrating various moments, and maintaining the language of femininity aloud, this presentation shows an intimate encounter with the world of the artist France Goneau. Alternating between facts and perceptions, the architect manipulates scenic devices to present these sculptural ornaments such as artifacts probing uncertainties, signalling the opacity of impositions and attesting binding injunctions that document the undeniable complexity of this feminine empire.

The architect opts for a dark purple space to create a chiaroscuro; with this cozy atmosphere, he accentuates the triumphant appearance of the museum’s imposing stained-glass window while enhancing the ostentatious aspect of the ornaments with lighting that enlivens their details and emphasizes the meticulousness of their fabrication. Feeding the attraction emanating from these beautifully disturbing ornaments, the scenography uses multiple lenses to exacerbate their whimsical appearance where past, present and future merge, just like their state of aging revealing the symbolic or talismanic aspect of their relationship to the body. The scale of these ornamental instruments, carefully made of porcelain, nichrome wire, platinum and 24-carat gold lusters, invites to a proximity allowing to appreciate the multitude of details, their smallness, their exigency, but also the constraint, the reminiscence and the temporality which are evoked. Structuring the space in a radial positioning Verville suggests the modalities of a processional journey resulting from an intimate ritual. This circular layout maximizes simultaneous visual contact with many of the ornaments which gives rise to a reflection on their function. The architect subjects the works to a new formal complexity by displaying them on reflective surfaces, as he highlights the ambiguity of their uses, their fragility and that of the moments evoked by inserting them under protection; the disturbing immaterial aspect that emerges seems to intensify the desire to admire, possess, touch. Thus, anchored in this atmosphere revealing the power of their femininity, these body ornaments welcome contemplative gazes to witness an enigmatic and indeterminate feminine universe, somewhere between dream, artifice and reality.

France Goneau

A graduate of UQAM School of Design and Bachelor of Visual Arts, France Goneau lives and works in Montreal. Her sculptures, which arouse the interest of the world of ceramics at the cutting edge of current practice, have already been presented in Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, New York, Chicago, Miami, Milwaukee, Abu Dhabi and Tokyo.

Jean Verville

Winner of numerous prizes, and enjoying significant international diffusion, architect Jean Verville presents a diversified production of architecture, installation and scenography. The architect’s interest lies in the possibilities of hybridization between arts and architecture and their impact on the architectural creation process.

QUEENS

Artist: France Goneau

Architect: Jean Verville

Photographer: Maxime Brouillet

Construction: Museum exhibition team (resp. Christine Gareau)

Special thanks:

Le Musée des Maitres et Artisans du Québec

Le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec

La Délégation générale du Québec à New York

Sculpture Space NYC