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Nicolas Grenier, who lives and works in Montreal and Los Angeles, has a BFA from Concordia University, an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts, and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (Maine). His interest lies in the distorted connections between the many systems we inhabit—political, economic, cultural and social—and the principles or absence of principles at the root of these systems. His work has been exhibited at the Power Plant (Toronto), the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (Québec City), Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, Gagosian (Athens), the Bruges Contemporary Art and Architecture Triennial (Belgium), and Union Gallery (London, U.K.).
His work has been collected by the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, the Royal Bank of Canada, the National Bank of Canada, and the Progressive Art Collection, among others.
Visit the artist’s website.
Nicolas Grenier is interested in the infrastructural poetics of the different systems we inhabit. Applying a formal language based on complexity, "mixity" and inclusivity, he addresses the design and visualization of these systems. In his works, colour fields encourage a contemplative state of mind, words are anchors for content, and architecture embodies ideas that would otherwise remain intangible.
Each year, the Sobey Art Award assembles a variety of artistic practices, bringing to the fore new voices in Canadian art. Although he has achieved recognition in Quebec and Los Angeles, Grenier occupies a discrete place within the Canadian art scene. Hopefully, his nomination to the Sobey shortlist will affirm the importance of his presence and work at a national level.
Photo: Atelier Nicolas Grenier
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Through sculpture, writing, drawing, sound and installations, Marie-Michelle Deschamps’ work focuses on language as an inhabitable space — a veritable structure and place where forms reside. Her practice is rooted in conversation, collaboration and translation, underscoring the transformative place of language within the formal dialect of architecture.
Deschamps’ work has recently been exhibited at Ausstellungsraum Klingental (Switzerland), Chapter (Wales), the Darling Foundry (Montreal), MUDAM Luxembourg, the Centre for Contemporary Arts (Scotland), Occidental Temporary (Paris), and at Collective as part of the Edinburgh Art Festival (Scotland). She has been artist-in-residence at Studio Voltaire (London, U.K.) and Triangle France (Marseille), and has a MFA from the Glasgow School of Art.
Photo: Justine Latour
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Caroline Monnet studied Communication and Sociology at the University of Ottawa and the University of Granada (Spain), before pursuing a career in the visual arts and film. Her work has been presented at Palais de Tokyo (Paris), Haus der Kulturen der Welt (Berlin), TIFF, Sundance, Aesthetica (London), Cannes, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Arsenal contemporary NY, Walter Phillips Gallery (Banff), Galerie Division (Montreal) and the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa).
Her work is included in numerous collections, including the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, National Gallery of Canada, RBC Royal Bank, and Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. Upcoming exhibitions include the Whitney Biennial and the Toronto Biennale of Art. She is based in Montreal.
Photo: Ulysse del Drago
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Celia Perrin Sidarous has an MFA from Concordia University, with a major in Photography. Her work has been presented in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including at the Norsk Billedhoggerforening (Norway), Centre CLARK (Montreal), Arsenal Contemporary (New York), Esker Foundation (Calgary), Campbell House Museum (Toronto), Dunlop Art Gallery (Regina), The Banff Centre (Alberta) and Gallery 44 (Toronto).
Perrin Sidarous was also part of the Biennale de Montréal 2016 – Le Grand Balcon, at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. She won the Prix Pierre Ayot in 2017, and the Barbara Spohr Memorial Award in 2011.
Photo: Tess Roby
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Sabrina Ratté’s practice includes video, animation, installations, sculptures, audiovisual performances, prints and Virtual Reality. Mixing analog technologies, photography and 3D animation techniques, her work focuses on the creation of architectures, abstract compositions and surreal landscapes, straddling the fine line between the virtual and the physical realm.
Her work has been exhibited at Ellephant (Montreal), Laforet HARAJUKU (Japan), Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Dolby Laboratories (San Francisco), Young Projects Gallery (Los Angeles), Whitney Museum (New York), Galerie Charlot (Paris), Chronus Art Center (China), Künstlerhaus Bethanien (Germany) and Museum of the Moving Image (New York), among others.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist
