EVA Brandl

Eva Brandl | Entre/ACTE(s)
march 15 – april 21 2018

Vernissage march 15 2018, 17h30


[Français]

What we call wildness is a civilization other than our own. —D.H. Thoreau

Eva Brandl’s ensembles present avian species as mythical personifications manifest in theatrical and poetic environments. At the intersection of naturalism, ornithology and ethology, her oversized photographs of mounted birds, inert props posed to appear alive, forge connections between the artificial and the real. By strategically setting up fabricated sculptural components in relation to the photographs within a space the viewer can occupy, she encourages a sense of reciprocity between bird and viewer and introduces a shared temporality separate from that of the photographs considered alone. The scenes draw their poetic charge from the elusive world sensed in the collision between image and space, between the time of the viewer and the always of myth. The suspense and uneasy anticipation they generate transcends the visual. The embodied experience suggests the power of nature to activate the imagination and prompts reflection on the subjective dimension of perceived reality. What emerges is an oblique sense of the relationship between humans and nature, intuited through this enigmatic encounter.

Eva Brandl’s recent work combines constructed objects and large-scale images that refer to nature. The resulting experiences open up fragile poetic worlds that relate back to the artist’s early interests in theatre and scenography. Trained as a visual artist at Université Laval in Quebec City (BFA, 1974) and at Concordia University (MFA, 1979), Eva Brandl’s artistic career spans over thirty years. She has exhibited in Quebec, Canada and internationally. Her work is represented in major Canadian museums and in private collections. She was an active member of Vehicule Art and cofounded Optica Gallery, two artist-run spaces in Montreal. She has participated in Canadian collective projects and events and lectured on her work in institutions and universities across the country. She has also held residencies in Europe and contributed to international symposiums on art and architecture. Eva Brandl teaches in the Faculty of Fine Arts at Concordia University in Montreal and at Marianopolis College. She lives and works in Montreal, Quebec.

Eva Brandl wishes to thank CUPFA, Concordia University Part-time Faculty Association for its generous support towards this exhibition.