Anri Sala opens first solo exhibition in Canada

TIRANA, Feb. 7 – An exhibition that can be viewed like a single work of art. That is what visitors will experience at the Musꥠd’art Contemporain de Montrꢬ (MAC) in the current presentation of works by Albania’s Anri Sala, the artist’s first solo exhibition in Canada, and his largest in North America, organizers say on their website.
A unique opportunity to discover the remarkable art of Anri Sala, the exhibition comprises a dozen recent major works, including videos, photographs, a sculpture and an installation created for the Musꥮ
“Visitors move seamlessly through the show as if it were a single piece, for the artist considers the process of exhibiting his works as important as that of producing them. Sala reconfigures the space in an innovative way to establish new relationships between the pieces. The staggered screening of the films, the quality of the light, the way the images are projected and the sound of the ten snare drums (Doldrums, 2008) dispersed throughout the galleries create a magical atmosphere. Just as one film ends, another begins, requiring visitors to reorient themselves according to the rhythm of the projections and the beat of the drums.”
A 128-page catalogue in French, along with texts in English, accompanies the show.
The exhibition is curated by Marie Fraser, Chief Curator at the Musꥠd’art Contemporain. It will be open until April 25.
Born in 1974 in Tirana, Anri Sala belongs to the last generation of artists that emerged under the country’s communist regime, and the first to come into contact with the world of Western and international art.
Sala currently lives and works in Berlin, and is represented by the Marian Goodman Gallery in New York, Hauser & Wirth in Zurich and London, and Galerie Chantal Crousel in Paris.
A major Canadian institution dedicated exclusively to contemporary art, the Musꥠoffers a varied program ranging from presentations of its Permanent Collection to exhibitions of works by Qu꣥c, Canadian and international artists.