On the walls: art you need to see this week

Dachshund UN. Photo by Lucas Dawson.

Artist Joey Tanny presents Wabi Tabi: Exploration of A Quiet Undeclared Beauty and Elegant Simplicity at Espace Pop. The works deal with all of that heavy existential stuff: life, death, decay and the circle and cycle of it all. But Tanny’s also seeks out and celebrates the beauty in imperfections. Vernissage May 22, Espace POP (5587 Parc), 6 p.m.

In a pretty inventive look at junk email (that means you, Groupon), artist Véronique Savard uses spam mail as a vehicle for exploring the deceptively elusive and sometimes fallacious nature of these junk e-mails that appear with relative frequency in your inbox. Savard has collected them since 2009 and examines their lifespan by analyzing the marketing strategies and the slogans by employing them in paintings. Vernissage May 22, Galerie Graff (963 Rachel), 5:30 p.m.

Expand your perspective on what art is, at the launch party for Sprout Out Loud! guerilla gardening zine, where land artist Emily Rose Michaud will give a talk, “Occupy the Streets with Land Art & Guerilla Gardening” (read our feature on Michaud and guerilla gardening here). May 22, Librairie Drawn & Quarterly (211 Bernard W.), 5-7 p.m., free

Thursday marks the latest installment of the Invention : Exceptions. If you’ve missed the first two, we’ll catch you up. Top local kinetik artists Manon Labrecque, Ghislain Roy Thomas Bégin and Peter Flemming all come together to create kinetic and sound sculptures with invented instruments and improvised audio devices. Vernissage May 23, Fonderie Darling (745 Ottawa), 2-5 p.m., free, 8 p.m. performance, $10

Montreal Monochrome opens up a roundtable discussion surrounding the population’s diversity and the lack of diverse representation in the city’s art scene and cultural sector. The discussion attempts to tackle some of the ways in which the problem can be resolved, featuring talks by Yves Alamo, Karen Tam and Charmaine Nelson. May 24, MAi (3680 Jeanne-Mance), 3-5 p.m.

The Sight & Sound digital arts festival continues into this week. Our notable mention this time around is OHM IV, a site-specific performative environment brought to life by Future Archaeology. Rooms are covered in a metallic tape that activitate electric currents. Spectators are invited to touch the floors and walls, thereby generating low-voltage currents and sound-generated motions. Performance May 25, Eastern Bloc (7240 Clark), 8 p.m.

There are several anarchy-themed exhibitions as we head up to the beloved annual Anarchist Book Fair, including the fair’s exhibit, Art & Anarchie. Vernissage May 24, CEDA, third floor (2515 Delisle), 5-9 p.m. Free-spirited thinkers should also check out Anarchie/Anarchy at Rats 9, a collection of works expressing or inspired by the political philosophy. Vernissage May 22, 6:00 p.m., finissage May 31 featuring performances by A Murder of Crows, Little Fruit and more. Rats 9 (Belgo Building, 372 Ste-Catherine W., #530) 

The Festival TransAmériques opens this week, with a full slate of internationally acclaimed theatre and dance programming. This weekend, the festival also offers a free outdoor installation and performance by Australian artist Bennett Miller. Dachshund UN parodies global politics in a model United Nations populated by 47 dachshunds, promising a buffet of adorable. Place des Spectacles (Jean Mance & President Kennedy), May 24 6 p.m., May 25-6 3 p.m., weather permitting

Finally, May 26 is Free Museum Day, y’all. Galeries around the city will be throwing oepn their doors and hosting special events and performances, so stay tuned to find out what’s in store. ■

By Emily Raine and Kristen Theodore

Totally gratuitous Dachshund UN image. Photo by Tomasz Machnik.