Pierre-François Ouellette art contemporain is proud to present new paintings by Kent Monkman. In keeping with earlier works that explore the mythologies of Western culture illuminating truths about European colonization of North America, Monkman casts his alter ego in the roles of four powerful and mythological females: Danae, Leda, Minerva and Helen of Troy. Against the lush backgrounds of romantic landscapes, Monkman employs the allegorical and sensual language of classical painting to condemn the violation of the land and First Peoples of North America. Borrowing ancient parables from Western cultures as lessons against deception and disguise, Monkman’s paintings reference the lies, failed promises and broken treaties perpetrated by the Canadian and US Governments against indigenous people.
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Kent Monkman is a Canadian artist of Cree ancestry who works with a variety of mediums, including painting, film/video, performance, and installation. He has had solo exhibitions at numerous Canadian museums including the Montreal Museum of Fine Art, the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art in Toronto, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Woodlands Cultural Centre and the Art Gallery of Hamilton. He has participated in various international group exhibitions including: The American West, at Compton Verney, in Warwickshire, England, Remember Humanity at Witte de With, Rotterdam, the 2010 Sydney Biennale, My Winnipeg at Maison Rouge, Paris, 2007 Biennale de Montréal and Oh Canada!, MASS MOCA. Monkman has created site specific performances at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Denver Art Museum, The Royal Ontario Museum, and at Compton Verney, he has also made Super 8 versions of these performances which he calls “Colonial Art Space Interventions.” His award-winning short film and video works have been screened at various national and international festivals, including the 2007 and 2008 Berlinale, and the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. His work is represented in numerous public and private collections including the National Gallery of Canada, Musée d'art contemporain de Rochechouart (France), Musée des beaux-art de Montréal, Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Art Gallery of Ontario, Museum London, Woodland Cultural Centre, The Glenbow Museum, Indian Art Centre, Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Mackenzie Art Gallery, the Art Bank of the Canada Council, Smithsonian/National Museum of the American Indian, Vancouver Art Gallery, Fondation de la Maison Rouge(Paris), Rideau Hall (Ottawa), The Logan Collection/Denver Art Museum and Hart House/University of Toronto. In January 2015, he will unveil his installation Casualties of Modernity in the BMO Financial Group Project room in Toronto
