Folded Fantasy

The exhibition titled 'Autoportraits' by Jerome Fortin has just been launched at Pierre-Francois Ouellette Art Contemporain.

How much do I love Fortin's work?  Let me count the ways.  After admiring his super-sized Ecrans at the Musee d'art Contemporain de Montreal last year I was curious to see how his work would hold up in a smaller gallery setting.  I'm glad to say it holds up just great.  

For this show his signature long, tightly folded strips of paper are draped over bamboo sticks which are suspended from the ceiling, reminiscent of kimono displays.  In fact, this series has a  strong Japanese vibe, certainly due to the fact that he produced these works during a residency at Japan's 'Tokyo Wonder Site.'

The source materials he uses for this installation include colourful Japanese cartoons, maps from all over the world, and for one of the installations just simple grey-lined paper.  Each piece beckons you closer, inviting close inspection.  Admire the delicate, meticulous folds, figure out the original source paper being used, trace down a story.  Take your time.

This is work you'll never tire of looking at.  In the back of the gallery you'll find two smaller examples of his Ecran series, and one of his Tondos, which brought Fortin to everyone's attention (certainly mine) back in 2004.

If you're going to the Belgo Building for just one show, make sure it's this one.

The exhibit runs until October 17th.

Words by Bettina Forget (www.bettinaforget.com).