In celebration of the first anniversary of the art project inaugurated in December 2018, a free bus tour is offered on January 25 as of 2 PM to discover the 13 public artworks of Images rémanentes.
Starting at 2 PM at Resurgo Place, the tour will then proceed to the Downtown area and to the Université de Moncton Campus, to resume at the Aberdeen Cultural Centre. There, the much-awaited 13th work of the itinerary, that of artist Mario Doucette, will be revealed during an opening from 4 to 6 PM. Warm cider will be served along the way and fricot (Acadian chicken soup) during the opening, free for participants of the bus tour. The evening will then continue with the opening of an exhibition of works by Jon Claytor at Galerie MurMur, at 6 PM.
Photo: Annie France Noël
Staying faithful to his historical approach, Mario Doucette uses a genre from French art history to pay tribute to Guy Duguay. When a renowned artist died in the nineteenth century, it was customary for a colleague to paint their portrait surrounded by other artistic personalities to demonstrate their admiration for the deceased master.
As Henri Fantin-Latour had done in homage to Delacroix in 1864, Doucette has composed a painting focused on one of Guy Duguay’s works, Pink Boys (est mal pas mal), a silk-screened photograph dating from 1996, the year of the artist’s death. Subversive by virtue of its homoerotic subject matter, this piece is representative of Duguay’s contribution, and was recognized at the time for having transgressed the artistic limits of Acadie.
Photo: Annie France Noël
In 1996 those close to Duguay organized a wake at the Terra Nova Café in the Aberdeen Cultural Centre. Several artists came together over a glass of champagne to celebrate the life of their departed friend. Doucette was also present at this event and has chosen to paint the portrait of some of the guests: Jacques Arseneault, Paul Édouard Bourque, Herménégilde Chiasson, Lionel Cormier, Yvon Gallant, Gérald Leblanc (a deceased poet represented here by Méditations sur le désir, an art book created in collaboration with Guy Duguay in 1996), Gilles LeBlanc, Nancy Morin, Nancy Schofield, and Anne-Marie Sirois. Glasses in hand, these key figures in the development of the Aberdeen Cultural Centre proudly affirm their admiration for Duguay, whose influence is still felt today. This painting-manifesto, anchored simultaneously in the past and present of Moncton's artistic community, testifies to the strength of the bonds that unite this community.
Read more information regarding this project here:
Hommage à Guy Duguay by Mario Doucette
Galerie Sans Nom
galeriesansnom.org direction@galeriesansnom.org 506 854-5381ISBN : 978-0-9951959-4-3