Howdy!

My friend Paul likes to say how there are something like seventeen different art worlds within Montreal, I tend to disagree with him, not only because I am by nature contrarian, but because I tend to think that there are something like a gazillion and a half different art worlds in Montreal (and by extension elsewhere, but some are specific to Montreal)

One of the ones that I get a big kick out of is the single artist gallery. You know, the wife of the business magnate likes to paint, so the husband rents a space for her, and voila! Just add champagne and you have a gallery! Off the top of my head I can think of Nicolin & Gublin, David Farsi, Musee Marc-Aurele Fortin, and Espace PEpin in town. Now, those in the academic art world, you know the types that hang around UQAM and Concordia most definitely look down their nose at these spaces. Those in the hoity-toity art world like thos folk on the fifth floor of the Belgo Building also look down their noses. Maybe all of those folk will end up with crossed eyes.

Now, I personally am not a big fan of any of the art presented in any of the four galleries that I mentioned - you can decide for yourself,

Oreilles longues by Nicolin or maybe Gublin, on the website, they don't make it clear who the artist is, available in a variety of sizes, media, and frames.

OA0078a by David Farsi, I have no idea about the size, medium, price framing or anything else.

Autumn Landscape in Sun Valley by Marc-Aurele Fortin, oil on canvas, 73.4 x 53.8 cm.

Discret, by Lysanne Pepin, 45" x 32", originally acrylic on canvas, now available in a variety of sizes and formats.

But the thing that I do get a kick out of from them, is that they are working a similar concept to what I am trying to do here. And that is make Art integral in everybody's life. One of my push button rants, is that most people would prefer to pay $15 to see a movie that they know is going to be bad, while they never think to walk into an art gallery, which is free, and can frequently change your life.