Pierre-François Ouellette art contemporain is pleased to present Somnambulists - an exhibition of works by Ed Pien around the theme of wandering figures in silhouette. This exhibition represents a unique collaboration between PFOAC, Galerie Maurits van der Laar (The Hague), Birch Contemporary (Toronto) and Atelier-Galerie A. Piroir (Montreal).
Somnambulists highlights work that draws upon Pien's own universe of mythological beings and the rich tradition of Chinese papercuts; although the artist pushes beyond the limits of this medium through his blur cuts (photographic papercuts), metal cuts, engravings, mixed-technique printmaking and video. In these bodies of work, phantom-like figures travel through endless landscapes, float in darkness or appear to dance on the moon.
Ed Pien is a multidisciplinary artist based in Toronto. Pien has exhibited nationally and internationally including the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; the Drawing Centre, New York; Museum of Art and Design, New York; Centro Nacional é las Artes, Mexico City; the Goethe Institute, Berlin; Middlesbrough Art Gallery, UK; W139, Amsterdam; Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver; The Contemporary Art Museum in Monterrey, Mexico; Bluecoat, Liverpool; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto and La Biennale de Montreal 2000 and 2002 and recently at the Moscow Bienale (2013), Sydney Biennale (2012) and in the Oh Canada exhibition at MassMoca. His ambitious large-scale installations, drawings and paper cuts are featured in the permanent collections of many Canadian museums including the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. His work was featured in the Canadian Biennale of the National Gallery of Canada in 2011 and 2015. La Poste dedicated a major exhibition in 2018 and the Art Gallery of Ontario is working on a special solo exhibition for 2023.
