The art gallery founded by Isabelle de Mévius is celebrating its 10th anniversary this fall with Réenchantement, a very rich exhibition of the most recent works of the prolific Ontario painter Carol Wainio.
In his large, very dense paintings, exterior landscapes dominate, in a form of figurative expressionism from which emerge characters taken from popular tales, such as Tom Thumb or Puss in Boots, or even mythical animals from La Fontaine’s fables, like the hare and the tortoise. The ensemble addresses the themes of disenchantment, scarcity as well as the excesses of our time.
To create her characters, Carol Wainio was particularly inspired by a collection of postcards dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which depict significant scenes from these tales. Particularly that of Little Thumb.
The artistic and general director of 1700 La Poste, Isabelle de Mévius, could not have found a better concept to celebrate the 10th anniversary of her gallery, which is a former post office! But she assures us that this is just the result of chance. “I had no idea at first that Carol had all these postcards and that they served as inspiration for creating her characters. »
This exhibition, which brings together around thirty paintings by Carol Wainio, was carefully prepared for almost a year. Each of the works is full of details and visual references.
In The Fall, for example, it is the abandoned children of Tom Thumb (or Hansel and Gretel) who we find at the center of the canvas, in a forest which, paradoxically, has something enchanting. Children’s drawings have been added to the foreground, in the form of simple lines representing sometimes trees, sometimes a turtle…
“For me, children abandoned in the forest are also a metaphor for the abandonment of future generations in the face of climate change,” Carol Wainio tells us. All this in a context where fabulist and conspiratorial discourses are multiplying, and where politicians act like children. There is a disenchantment, but also a re-enchantment, because my characters are also bearers of hope. »
It is true that the seven abandoned children in Tom Thumb eventually find their way back and, thanks to a few tricks, bring back a bag of gold to their parents.
It is for all of her work that Isabelle de Mévius wanted to exhibit the paintings of Carol Wainio, an Ontario painter of Finnish origin, and to write a beautiful book bringing together her works. “I like her freedom of expression, she dares to go figurative – at the same time, it’s not – she interprets nature, there are some wonderful flights of fancy. It’s a very inventive painting. »
In 10 years, it must be said that Isabelle de Mévius has had flair. Almost all of his exhibitions were a hit. From Louis-Pierre Bougie to Gilles Mihalcean, via Jean-Pierre Morin, Marc Garneau, Geneviève Cadieux and Jannick Deslauriers, from painting to sculpture, the public has always responded.
How does the gallery owner of Belgian origin choose the artists she exhibits?
Isabelle de Mévius remembers the first exhibition at 1700 La Poste, in the rubble of the antiques store that was then established on the street – before she transformed the 1700 La Poste building into an art gallery. “It was an exhibition by Michel Casavant,” she remembers. He had lots of paintings in his studio, I first suggested he make a book, and then we did the exhibition. »
The artistic director of 1700 La Poste is certain today, this art gallery is “the most beautiful thing” she has done in her life. “Over the years, I got to know these artists, I discovered their art,” she tells us. All this work of investigation and understanding fascinates me. Artists also need us to sell their works, it’s very important, because the market is slow. »
The works featuring the characters of Little Thumb are on the ground floor, while on the first floor, you can see his entire corpus inspired by the fables of La Fontaine. In the basement are other paintings by the artist, as well as the famous postcards that inspired her.
The fables are completely reinterpreted in the paintings of Carol Wainio, finally notes Isabelle de Mévius.
“The turtle, for example, is found in several positions, either whole or held on a leash by a foreman [in At Hare], the gallery owner tells us. This gives us the impression that the population is advancing slowly under his command… The hare is depicted as a lackey, but he is positioned differently in other paintings. »
Isabelle de Mévius, who was already a painter, began organizing exhibitions in Brussels, before emigrating to Quebec. “As a painter, it seemed to me that I had nothing to say, perhaps I was too young, so I took care of others. » The rest of the story of 1700 La Poste remains to be written. The 74-year-old gallery owner, who finances her exhibitions herself, is now thinking about her future. “Are we going to space out the exhibitions? Organize group exhibitions? That remains to be seen. »
