RELATIONS: Diaspora and Painting

Larry Achiampong, Hurvin Anderson, Kamrooz Aram, Moridja Kitenge Banza, Firelei Báez, Frank Bowling, Cy Gavin, Barkley L. Hendricks, Lubaina Himid, Bharti Kher, Rick Leong, Manuel Mathieu, Julie Mehretu, Jordan Nassar, Yoko Ono, Maia Cruz Palileo, Rajni Perera, Ed Pien, Jessica Sabogal, Marigold Santos, Yinka Shonibare CBE, Shanna Strauss, Curtis Talwst Santiago, Mickalene Thomas, Salman Toor, Hajra Waheed, Jinny Yu

Curated by Cheryl Sim

RELATIONS: Diaspora and Painting brings together over 50 artworks that elicit a convergence of visual melodies and countermelodies, which culminate in a contrapuntal experience. This group show explores the complex and multiple meanings of diaspora, its condition, and its experiences as expressed through painting. “The questions and concepts of diaspora are of deep, personal interest to me as a person of colour born in Canada of mixed Asian heritage,” says curator and managing director Cheryl Sim. The wide spectrum of productive interpretations and relations that are generated by experiences of diaspora remain unfixed, providing endless engagement with the notions of kinship and identity in a world of advanced globalization and migration.

This show presents a selection of work by artists who address questions of diaspora from diverse perspectives, methodologies and aesthetic languages. The medium of painting, with its deep and complex history, becomes a particularly provocative lens through which to explore the complications and diversities that are analogous to the richness of diasporic experiences. This collective body of work also aims for an intergenerational dialogue and presents artists whose work has pushed the boundaries of what painting is and can be. Given the open-ended and discursive nature of the subject, the show is by no means an attempt to be exhaustive but, rather, endeavours to open up ideas and encourage dialogue.

PHI Foundation for Contemporary Art
Established in 2007 by Phoebe Greenberg, the PHI Foundation for Contemporary Art, formerly known as DHC/ART, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the presentation of contemporary art. Housed in two heritage buildings located in the heart of Old Montréal, its programming has met with critical acclaim both at home and around the world. Each year, the PHI Foundation presents two to three major exhibitions, a series of public events, special collaborative projects and a forward-thinking education program. International in scope yet responsive to the Montréal context, the Foundation’s programming is offered free of charge to reinforce its commitment to accessibility, while fostering a discussion on how contemporary art is invested with the topics and ideas that reflect and touch our everyday lives.

Free admission

Opening Hours
July 8 to August 30
Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 10am to 12pm

September 2 to November 29
Wednesday: 11am to 7pm
Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 12 to 9pm
Sunday: 10am to 6pm

Accessibility: Partially Accessible

Media inquiries:
Myriam Achard
machard [​at​] phi-foundation.org
T 514-844-7474 #5104