On the Walls: the week in art

Boulevard Saint-Laurent. 1980-1982, photo by Alain Leloup. Image courtesy of the CCA. © Alain Leloup

In arts this work, several shows explore the significance of colour, curves, shape and shapelessness.

If we haven’t stressed (or praised) it enough already, ALLKIN by Jason Botkin is a solo project by the artist in conjunction with LNDMRK and the Yves Laroche gallery. It’s colourful option (ideal for bleak winters), dousing viewers in vibrancy, a deviation from the artist’s hallmark black and white style. If you’re looking for an escape, Botkin’s world is one of giants with wall-length paper, wood or canvas cutouts to create characters and dolls stretching far beyond the reaches of imagination. Vernissage Jan. 29, Project Beaumont (550 Beaumont) 6 p.m., free

Michel Von Darck & Clockshovel (painter/illustrator) come together at Galerie Zephyr 2112 and take a heady trip down memory lane. With Clockshovel (real name Jonathan Glassen), the collaboration brings forth work created over the past 12 months, projects that find the artist revisiting the past and exploring the theme of experience. Von Darck builds on this with his exploration of his “underground” roots, nostalgia and memory both inescapable and prevalent. Through this, he look towards the future and the new beginnings that come with it. Vernissage Jan. 31, Galerie Zephyr 2112 (2112 Amherst) 5 p.m., free

The Canadian Centre for Architecture ushers in the third phase of their ongoing ABC: MTL exhibition, with a suite of new installations, images, maps, presentations and more. One large element of the next phase is called Streetview. Instead of showcasing the more commonplace scenery (read: tourist traps), Streetview focuses on the city’s landscape that has so shifted and evolved over the years, culturally and politically. Vernissage Jan. 31, Canadian Centre for Architecture (1920 Baile) 6-9 p.m., with the launch of Cult MTL‘s February issue, performances by CFCF and DJ Jordan Dare, free

Fresca Luna borrows from her name for her latest Deco-Art foray, Folie Lunaire. This marks the artist’s second exhibition. It is especially focused on using curves, roundness, brightness and just a boatload of colour, their purpose to emulate the way our imagination conceives objects under moonlight. Vernissage Feb. 1, L’espace contemporain galerie d’art de Montreal (5175 Papineau) 5 p.m., free

The opening reception for Artmur’s “La Revente” (or, the resale) takes place this week. It’s the gallery’s sixth edition of the event, which provides attendees the opportunity to revamp their personal collection, either selling work they own or just purchasing new work altogether. Opening reception Feb. 2, Artmur (5826 St-Hubert) 3-5 p.m., free

On the gallery’s ten year anniversary comes The Ambivalence: Shape and Shapelessness, curated by Fred Laforge. It asks the question: “What is the shape of the art object, and how do we perceive it?” It asks us to consider how shape and shapelessness are interchangeable, as one can’t really be had without the other. Vernissage Feb. 2, Galerie SAS (Belgo Building, 372 Ste-Catherine W., #416) 4 p.m., free

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