Manuel Lau’s Época and Era

From September 22 to October 22, 2011, Han Art presents Manuel Lau’s Época & Era, the artist’s latest series of oil paintings.

Época & Era grasps your soul, absorbs your dreams, stirs your questions, mirrors your heart. It juxtaposes pieces of life, gleaned from the collective unconscious, spiced with the artist’s personal impressions.

Época V, Oil on canvas mounted on board, 60 x 48 inches, 2011

The paintings in Época are like game boards, with no start or finish, waiting for players to remix human and animal heads, with fish, gloves, bowls, umbrellas and knives, creating multiple scenarios with open endings. These elements interact quietly on the canvas, creating a brew of potent emotion. Like hieroglyphic characters, these symbols spell out messages, albeit subliminal, subject to interpretation.The repetition of certain forms such as the primitive human profile, becomes a mantra, creating a sense of harmony.

Era V, Oil on canvas mounted on board, 48 x 60 inches, 2011

In the Era series aquatic creatures float amongst vegetables and organic forms captured at different stages of gestation. Again, these paintings suggest possibilities of how life may develop. In Era V fish, bottles and heads are depicted on a textured surface, reminiscent of parchment. Like continents on an ancient map, these elements entice us to explore and discover. In Era XI a red chair, surrounded by radiant color, beckons us. It could be one of those paint-speckled chairs that one finds in artists’ studios. Perhaps it personifies the artist himself, reflecting on his paintings, deciphering their cryptic messages. The chair invites us into Lau’s world and entices us to bask in its warmth.

Época I, Oil on canvas mounted on board, 48 x 60 inches, 2011

Época & Era is an opportunity to step into the imagination of a constantly evolving artist. Manuel Lau comes from a successful graphic arts background. This exhibition, entirely dedicated to painting, marks his commitment to painting. It offers the promise of an era of treasures to come.

Talleen Hacikyan

At
HAN ART
4209 rue Ste-Catherine Ouest
Westmount, Québec, Canada H3Z 1P6

An exhibition catalogue is available.

Icare, Icarus and Icaro

I am presenting thirteen linocut prints in ICARE 6, a group exhibition at l’Usine C, in Montreal. This show features René Donais, Talleen Hacikyan, Michel Lancelot, Noémie Lesquins, Roland Pelletier and Deborah Wood. The stellar piece of the show is La chute d’Icare, a collective linocut, measuring close to seven by four feet. Each artist also presents prints inspired by the myth of the fall of Icarus.

Incoming, Circling, Allegory, Relinquishing, Unworldly, Sunward, linocut, 19 x 19 cm each, 2011

Icarus Series

After working on the large collective linocut, I wanted to make miniature prints. The small square format inspired letters. In this series, Icarus spells out his name with his body while narrating his story. This choreography of letters, like a graffiti writer’s tag, affirms identity and perpetuity.

Incognito, Celestial, Auberge, Ricochet, Oblivion, linocut, 38 x 28 cm each, 2011

Icaro Series

I created the Icaro series specifically for the ICARE 6 exhibition at l’Usine C. The Italian and Spanish name Icaro has an operatic ring to it that I found suitable for l’Usine C. I was also attracted to the graphic possibilities of the letter O, that inspired a lifesaver for Icarus. Other letters are formed with trees, the moon and the sea. These elements act as props on a stage for lyrical, dream-like scenes that contrast with the tone of the myth of Icarus.

I fell in love with printmaking in Monique Carbonneau’s relief printing class at Université du Québec à Montréal. When I graduated in 1985, I joined Atelier Circulaire, where I continued making woodcut prints for two years before exploring other print techniques and focusing on collagraphy. The ICARE 6 project let me reconnect with relief printing, my first passion.

ICARE 6 continues at l’Usine C until October 15, 2011.

Talleen Hacikyan

L’USINE C
1345, AVENUE LALONDE
MONTRÉAL (QC) H2L 5A9