TrépanierBaer is premiering a new major work by Luanne Martineau at this year’s Plural Contemporary Art Fair in Montreal. To that end, Nicole Burisch, curator, writer and Director of the FOFA Gallery at Concordia University, has written an essay commenting on the work and the artist’s motivation in its production. The essay’s introduction begins with:

Luanne Martineau’s new work Harder Kloster is a meditation on time, the use of abstraction in periods of trauma and conflict, and the cracks in the system that have appeared since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The wall-based textile is composed of a multipaneled fabric ground, with three rectangular sections of light pink, black and olive green. A series of embroidered shapes are either stitched directly into each section, appliqued onto the surface of the fabric, or affixed to its edges. The composition recalls bands of colour on a flag, and the placement of embroidered elements is reminiscent of commemorative banners or the inherited heraldry that conveys association with a particular group or nationality.

To read the entire essay, please open the electronic booklet listed below.

Image credit:
Luanne Martineau
Harder Kloster, 2023
Mixed media
76.5 inches tall x 115 inches wide