PLIER / FOLD

galerie antoine ertaskiran is pleased to present Jeanie Riddle’s second solo exhibition at the gallery entitled PLIER / FOLD. As part of the exhibition, the artist is presenting a series of works conceptualized during her residency at the Cité internationale des arts in Paris (in partnership with the Canada Council for the Arts). The artist continues her inquiry into the role of autobiographical definitions in locating the human self within the field of aesthetics; an inquiry into a state of being within a fictional world of instinctual and tender architecture.

PLIER / FOLD is a series of unique photographic works that combine drawing and sculpture. Architecture, both whole and stripped of its attributes, hinges on a few lines, leaving room for appropriation and construction. With the collaboration of her daughter Riddle draws architectural renderings and fills their voids with domestic identifiers, small and unfired painted clay sculptures, furnishings and paint spills. The drawn words are from a poem written by the artist and recited by her daughter in a video piece in the second room of the gallery. Positioned in this fictional space, these keywords are organized like sculptures, constantly interacting with the visitor. Transforming these works as unique photographs was finalized in Montreal with the assistance of Matthew Brooks. In essence, the final photographs transcend borders and the limitations of materials.

In the absence of her usual materials, Riddle turned to drawing and sculpture as a way to translate her interest in autobiography, where disclosure and domestic sites serve as backdrops for her new sculptures and installation. The artist continues her reflection on our preception of the everyday and the architecture and objects that punctuate it, paying particular attention to neglected and forgotten spaces, such as corners and areas where objects accumulate. Recalling these spaces during the creative process adapts and distorts their first image, exploring the ambiguous role of personal space.

Montreal artist Jeanie Riddle has a Master’s degree in Visual Arts (Painting) from Concordia University and has been co-director of Parisian Laundry since 2005. She was a finalist in the 2008 RBC Canadian Painting Competition and is a two-time recipient of Canada Council for the Arts research grants. After a residency at Triangle Arts in Brooklyn in 2012, Riddle exhibited at the Evans Contemporary Gallery (Peterborough, ON), the McClure Gallery (Westmount, QC), and the FOFA Gallery at Concordia University (Montreal, QC) in 2014. Riddle’s work has been featured in numerous art magazines, including Frieze Magazine, Canadian Art, Rover, and Magenta Magazine. Her works can be found in the collections of the Bank of Montreal, RBC Investor Services (London, UK/Toronto, Canada), Giverny Capital, The Canadian Art Foundation, the City of Montreal Collection, and the Aldo Collection. In 2015, the artist was offered a four-month residency at the Cité international des arts in Paris in partnership with the Canada Council for the Arts.