The artist transforms the work on a weekly basis. Each time, the surface of the black puddle increases.
The puddle was almost invisible at the beginning of the process. By the end, it nearly encompasses the gallery’s entire floor space. The dancer occupies the gallery space in the same way as the static works that surround her.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Out of Grace<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Born of a close collaboration between choreographer Lynda Gaudreau and the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Out of Grace<\/em> is an experimental hybrid project at the boundaries of choreography and art exhibition that was presented over a nearly five-week period in the fall of 2010. Lynda Gaudreau brought together artists from the realms of dance and the visual arts to question the nature and relationships of performance and of \u00adcurating exhibitions: What might an exhibition beginning with dance and ending in visual arts be? How does the exhibition space integrate the presence of the body over the course of a given day and throughout the duration of the project?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five performers\u200a\u2014\u200aKarina Iraola, Marilyne St-Sauveur, \u00c9milie Morin, Am\u00e9lie B\u00e9dard-Gagnon, and Anne Th\u00e9riault\u200a\u2014\u200aand an ensemble of apprentice performers infused each of the spaces of the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery of Montreal with a singular presence, while visual artists Yann Pocreau, Aude Moreau, Alexandre David, Chih-Chien Wang, and J\u00e9r\u00f4me Fortin reflected on the presentation of their works in the exhibition space over the five weeks of the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November 2012, Lynda Gaudreau created an adaptation of Out of Grace<\/em> for the permanent collection of the M Museum Leuven in Belgium. The project was elaborated within the context of an experimental laboratory together with arts students from the Acad\u00e9mie royale des beaux-arts de Bruxelles. Le mus\u00e9e imaginaire<\/em> (The Imaginary Museum<\/em>) by Andr\u00e9 Malraux, published in 1947, served as point of departure for their critical reflection on history, contemporaneousness, and the idea of reproduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Out of Grace<\/em> is first and foremost a collaborative work: lighting designers Alexandre Pilon-Guay in Montreal and Jan Maertens in Leuven, sound artist Alexandre St-Onge, composer Matteo Fargion, guest choreographer Marc Vanrunxt, and creative assistant Anne Th\u00e9riault were the driving forces behind the project, allowing it to evolve in such a way that all of the collaborators could, in a sense, each \u201cinterpret\u201d the work in their own individual manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Translated from the French by Louise Ashcroft]<\/p>\n\n\n\n