Espace Maurice is thrilled to invite you to Bérénice’s Stomach, a two-person exhibition presenting new works by Montreal based artists: Julien Parant-Marquis and Fran Williams, curated by Marie Ségolène C Brault, at Pangée until July 26th, 2024.
Set in Pangée’s second floor Atelier, Bérénice’s Stomach is a summer meditation on the inner monologues of Réjean Ducharme’s 1966 infamous protagonist: Bérénice Einberg, viewed through Julia Kristeva’s poetic writings on melancholia (Black Sun: Depression and Melancholia, 1989). Parant-Marquis’ and Williams’ contrasting works will seduce you into moments of warm nostalgic sadness, eerie dreamscapes and uneasy quietude.
From the exhibition text:
“Fran Williams’ abstractions hide a precise and ongoing deconstruction of lettering, language and word formation. Some kind of praise to asymbolia, a push back against definition. This meditation on the preverbal invites us to prioritize the awestriking experience of colors colliding against each other. Even her portraitures are fragmented. You will not be given the answer here. […]The windows are open just enough to let the breeze come in from the mountain. Somewhere between the most cavernous parts of the body and crevices in the ground, Parant-Marquis’ eerie dreamscapes flourish. Warm, and tentacular, quasi-futuristic landscapes pull us inwards. Wherever the black sun lies, it has engulfed us. Have we fallen into Bérénice’s ear?”
Text by Marie Ségolène C Brault
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FRAN WILLIAMS is a Painter based in Montreal.
Fran’s work deals with the liminal middle-space of the abstraction /figuration dichotomy. While she considers herself an abstract painter, her works often suggest letters or text without becoming readable language. Similarly, figures seem to appear but fail to coalesce into representational forms.
Achieving strong liminality is like landing a coin on its edge: a difficult feat but the effect is impossible to substitute. The pursuit of liminality is the main guiding aspiration in her work. She values the creation of art that can be misunderstood and likens the experience of such work to watching clouds, reclining on a lawn and comparing what we see.
Fran holds a BA in Studio Arts from Concordia University (2020).
JULIEN PARANT-MARQUIS (b. 1996) lives and works in Montreal (Tiohtià:ke). Through mostly painting and drawing, Parant-Marquis delves into the dynamic interplay between abstraction and figuration, consistently unraveling at their polarity. In a deliberate compositional structure, cavernous shapes and tendrils intertwine forming abstract figures and alluring landscapes.
Parant-Marquis’ imaginary visual language plays off a familiar uncanny atmosphere. It is in this self-referential realm, components hint at surreal narratives and ominous scenes while always remaining just out of the viewer’s grasp.
Recent solo exhibitions include Gatekeeper, Afternoon Projects, Vancouver, BC (2023) and Thalassa, Timothy Hawkinson Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2023). Select group exhibitions include I Think I’m in Trouble, Sara’s Worldwide, New York City, NY (2024), Lineas Borrosas, Gama Gallery, Mexico City, CDMX (2023), Stat. Sig., Tap Artspace, Montréal, QC (2022), Bliss, Baba Yaga, Hudson, NY (2022), Gazing on the wilds, Afternoon Projects. Vancouver, BC (2022) and For every crypt there’s a passion, for every pension there’s a prisoner, Espace Maurice, Montréal, QC (2022).
Parant Marquis’ work has been shown in multiple international fairs such as: Plural (2023), Toronto Art Fair (2023) and NADA NY (2024).
Julien Parant-Marquis holds a Bachelor in Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing from Concordia University (2021).