Entre ciel et terre, 2010
Carved poplar plywood
174” x 803.5” / 442 x 2041 cm

The space offered at the college, through the long corridor and the grand foyer, is double and unique; double in its dimensions and functions, unique by its majestic architecture that embraces the exterior garden and its natural elements. I thus chose to use the two different techniques that we may see here, carved plywood and a frottage drawing.

The triptych Entre brume et nuage is created from the plywood bas-reliefs seen in the corridor, but we may look in vain searching which panel corresponds to a particular drawing since the rubbing is a process whereby an entire new work is created by displacement of the paper. Entre brume et nuage presents an imagery oscillating between abstraction and an imaginary landscape echoing a certain tradition of Chinese ink painting.

In the corridor, Entre ciel et terre also unveils a series of imaginary spaces. Each bas-relief has its own entity, but an attentive eye will discern a long flowing movement from one panel to the other similar to a large imperceptible tide.

Consisting of different formats, the bas-reliefs are integrated between the existing architectural vertical lines of the wall. They accentuate the rhythm in symbiosis with the architecture. Wood, an organic element par excellence, crosses the transparency of the window to rejoin the beauty of the exterior garden. This garden also visible from the foyer is no stranger to the inspiration that underlines the design of the frottage drawings.

One who stops to consider the profound convergence of all these elements will have the pleasure to find themselves in presence of a single work of art where architecture, garden, Entre brume et nuage, Entre ciel et terre are complicit in upholding a single dialogue.

Biography:


Yechel Gagnon obtained a MFA from Concordia University and an AOCAD from the Ontario College of Art and Design. She exhibits her work across North America and France and has two publications to her name. Her work has received many reviews and numerous grants. Yechel Gagnon lives and works in the Montreal area and is represented by the Moore Gallery in Toronto, Newzones Gallery in Calgary and Spheris Gallery in New Hampshire. Her upcoming projects include a series of etchings inspired by a recent trip to Japan and a cast aluminum outdoor public art commission for the La Licorne Theatre in Montreal.

Artist: Yechel Gagnon
Official name of the project: Yechel Gagnon Brébeuf Projet d’art public
Titles: Entre ciel et terre, Entre brume et nuage
Location: Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf, Complexe Sportif, 5625 rue Decelles, Montreal
Architects: Menkès Shooner Dagenais LeTourneux Architectes
Project manager: Politique d’intégration des arts à l’architecture
Partners: Alexandre Masino, Yan Giguère, Christian Miron, Louis Lussier, Pierre Charrier, Gisèle Millet et Renée Joubert
Photographers: Marc Cramer (image 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10),
Alexandre Masino (image 4),
Pierre Charrier (image 7)