On the Walls: the week in art

From Étrange Dictature, by Sayeh Sarfarez

There is a metric shit-ton of amazing, mind-blowing exhibits opening up in town this week, including works by Canadian art star Michael Snow, a solo exhibit by German sculptor Thomas Demand and live painting by local street art heroes Produkt and Labrona.

Le Plateau de Mon Enfance features Miriam Lanail embarking on her first solo exhibit in quite some time. Offering a collection of 40 or so paintings, a familiar and forgotten Plateau is envisioned by Lanail, through imagination and memory. The artist came to Montreal post-World War II, and while her story is a common one for many immigrants in the city, her paintings offer a unique look at a Plateau of the past. Vernissage Jan. 15, Galerie Ame-Art (5345 du Parc), 7 p.m.

Michael Snow, one of the biggest and brightest names in the Canadian art scene, is coming to Montreal. Solo Snow: Works of Michael Snow gathers a collection of photographs, video and sound pieces and installations created between the 1960s and the present, curated by Louise Déry, chronicling the prolific artist’s ongoing experimentation with auditory and visual art. Vernissage Jan. 17, Galerie de l’UQAM (1400 Berri, Pavillon Judith-Jasmin, J-R120), 5:30 p.m.

Parisian Laundry ushers in two new exhibits this week. In the main gallery, check out Jennifer Lefort’s Beacon (In Colour). The smaller display space will house new work by Sam Jelroy-Bois. Vernissage Jan. 17, Parisian Laundry (3550 St-Antoine W), 6–8 p.m.

A new exhibit explores the intersections between nature and politics. Called De la nature, the show features works that investigate the relationships between art and science, along with nature and technology, and question our artistic and social approaches to both. Vernissage Jan. 17, Galerie Les Territoires (Belgo Building, 372 Ste-Catherine W., # 527), 6 p.m.

Vidéothéque and WWTWO are teaming up for a double launch — a party to welcome the gallery’s new exhibit, a group show called Grace Notes curated by Stacey Ho, as well as to celebrate Vithéque, a platform for viewing art. WWTWO (170 Jean-Talon W.), 7:30 p.m.–1:30 a.m.

Starting Jan. 11 and running through the 19th, the Covers exhibit is the culmination of work produced throughout a week-long workshop by a team of participants paying homage to some American legends (namely Jackson Pollack, Jasper Johns and Helen Frankenthaler) by creating “cover versions” of their painting styles. Vernissage Jan. 17 at Visual Voice Gallery (Belgo Building, 372 Ste-Catherine W., #421) 5:30 p.m.

Montréal Créative, a collaboration between ARTV Studio and Massivart, present a live painting demo by Montreal street artists Produkt and Labrona, as part of their ongoing series of workshops, exhibits and performances. Swing by to see masters in action. Jan. 18, ARTV Studio (1600 St-Urbain), 6:30 p.m.

The same night, you can have an intense cosmic experience courtesy of the SAT. Chaos & Order is a collaboration between new media artist Rocco Helmchen and composer Johannes Kraas, in which the interior of the Satosphère will be lit up with an immersive “planetarium”-style cosmological display. The show is on through Feb. 8, but opening night offers the chance to experience it alongside a menu by Lab Culinaire chefs Michelle Marek and Seth Gabrielse, as well as an open discussion by the exhibit’s creators. SAT (1201 St-Laurent), artist talk at 6 p.m., projections at 7, 8 and 9 p.m., 18+

From one “cover” to a cover of another kind, Spin is the found-object project that takes a serious look at something gone but surely not forgotten: the album cover. On 12-inch vintage records, the artist screen prints black and white imagery, adding a newfound modernity to these relics. Vernissage Jan. 18 at Atelier Circulaire (5445 de Gaspé), 7:30 p.m.

Friday offers a one-night-only opportunity to check out Hub Session, the fruit of a lengthy collaboration between selected Chinese, Belgian and Quebecois artists drawn from a variety of fields to work together in an international residency. The performance is transdisciplinary, fusing sound, visual art and theatrical performances alongside a “cosmological score.” Jan. 18, Eastern Bloc (7240 Clark, 2nd floor), 7 p.m.

Sayeh Sarfaraz’s Étrange Dictature is moving and poignant, using toys like Lego figures, plastic green army toys and cartoon drawings and placing them in the gruesome settings familiar under oppressive rule: an execution, a demonstration, soldiers dead in a field. Vernissage Jan. 19, MAI (3680 Jeanne-Mance), 3 p.m.

Dave Eppley’s Oil Stains looks back on a time when the building at 4001 Berri St. wasn’t an art-run centre but a showroom for cars. This installation mostly plays with space as Eppley seeks to exploit the places we tend to overlook: a corner of a room, a stain on a cement floor, a crack in the wall. Employing a colourful spectrum of vinyl tape oft used in commercial signs, Eppley invites us to look somewhere new for a change. Vernissage Jan. 19, Oboro (4001 Berri), 5 p.m.

German photographer and sculptor Thomas Demand is in town to present Animations, a show featuring his animated work, most of it stop-motion. His work focuses on the themes of the real, knowing what’s real and slippages between memory and reality, finding ways to portray humanity without actually showing any people. DHC Art (451 St-Jean), 7 p.m., free ■

By Emily Raine and Kristen Theodore

Check out our complete listings for more great art, stage and gallery events.