While awaiting its major fall exhibition, the retrospective dedicated to the Venezuelan-born artist Marisol, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts presents a (very) pleasant showcase of pop art, which brings together works from its permanent collection. . And which gives pride of place to Quebec artists.

There are two ways to visit Pop la vie! First, with a light heart, because works of polyurethane and laminated wood inevitably make you happy. And in a more intellectual way, by wondering what could be hidden behind this big cactus or this purple egg.

“He also made orange and yellow ones,” says exhibition curator Iris Amizlev, in front of the mauve version of Jean Noël. According to her, it is the first option that should be favored and see the playful and colorful side of these works.

“What is marvelous in this exhibition is that Quebec artists shine”, also says Iris Amizlev, in front of what is obvious, on the spot. “Everyone knows Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, she continues, but look at this,” points the curator to a 1974 work by Michel Leclair called Une patate dans sauce, pis un coke! The title is a reference to a poem by Gérald Godin, specifies Iris Amizlev, delighted.

There is indeed an Andy Warhol Mao. But not far away, there is also an oven where you can see a chicken cooking in real time, on video, if you want to put in the time. This work by Pierre Ayot arouses curiosity and provokes a smile, above all.

Pierre Ayot’s work is beautifully showcased in Pop la vie! It is one of the stars of the exhibition, according to its curator. Ditto for Edmund Alleyn, who we see in a different light with spectacular works, certainly one of the most attractive in Pop life!

Eight themes are addressed, including women, who are represented here by men, women being practically absent from the movement, underlined the Museum’s chief curator, Mary-Dailey Desmarais, during the unveiling of the exhibition.

There will also be a small space devoted to furniture, another to advertising, the flagship theme of the movement born in the late 1950s – but which really took off in the following decade.

So we go with a light heart? “Yeah, come home and have fun,” Iris Amizlev replies. It’s just for fun, even if it’s very cerebral. Although when these works entered galleries and museums, people were shocked. »

The most cerebral will also take the time to dissect these works to make different readings and immerse themselves in the social context of the time. Because this representation, as joyful as it is, is also a reaction to arid contexts, the Vietnam War in the United States, the Quiet Revolution here, in particular.

Good to know: the exhibition is presented in the basement, between the two pavilions of the museum, with pieces from the permanent collection. It is therefore free to access on the first Sunday of each month. It continues until March 24.

The MMFA is banking heavily on its exhibition Marisol: A Retrospective, which opens October 7. Although the artist is unknown to the general public, the practice of Marisol is detailed over sixty years. The exhibition brings together 250 works, multimedia, including totems, in a style that is announced to be satirical. A collaboration with the Buffalo AKG Art Museum.

Later this fall, starting November 1, the museum presents an exhibition dedicated to the great Françoise Sullivan, signatory of Refus global whose 75th anniversary is celebrated this year. Françoise Sullivan was a dancer at the time the manifesto was signed. The museum presents recent pictorial works that deal with movement and light. The artist turned 100 in June.