Like the Chromatic Festival, which is a constantly evolving platform, they will discuss their work, this mobile and protean process that is always changing and ends up producing works that are similar in ideas but divergent in form. For a little over two decades, they have been committed in several museum institutions, galleries, gardens, and public spaces, but more than anything else, they love to play with the visitor, leading him on colourful journeys as physical as they are visual. Come and meet their tribulations in this real confusion of post-modern times that may bring a smile to your face...
BGL, the Quebec City art collective, is renowned for its installations that take hold of exhibition settings and public spaces. Described as “provocative, critical, and explosive,” their pieces use humour and extravagance to draw attention to social and political concerns. The three artists, Jasmin Bilodeau, Sébastien Giguère, and Nicolas Laverdière, began to acquire some recognition right after they finished their degree at Laval University in 1996.
Among the memorable pieces in their portfolio, a few should be mentioned, namely À l’abri des arbres [Sheltered from the Trees] at Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, in 2001; Need to Believe at Mercer Union, Toronto, in 2005; as well as Le discours des éléments [The Discourse of Elements], presented at Oeil de Poisson, Quebec City, in 2007.
Their work was exhibited at Casino Luxembourg (Sous les ponts [Under Bridges], 2005), at the Artists Space New York (On Being an Exhibition, 2007); at National Art Gallery of Canada (Caught in the Act, 2008-09); at the Art Gallery of Alberta, in Edmonton (Fun House, 2007); at the Galeria Toni Tàpies in Barcelona (Manoeuvre/Maniobres [Manoeuvers], 2009); at the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris (Artistique Feeling, 2008); at the Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver (Marshmallow + Cauldron + Fire = 2009), and at Mac-Val in France (Spectacle + Problème [Spectacle + Problem], 2011). They were part of Nuit Blanche in three different cities—Toronto in 2008, Paris in 2011, and Calgary in 2012—and were also featured in an exhibition titled Oh, Canada at MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, U.S.) in May 2012. Also presented in Switzerland at the Kunsthalle Arbon in 2017.
They were nominated for a Sobey Art Award in 2006, and participated in several biennials including La Havane’s (2006), Ushuaïa’s (2007), and Montreal’s (2007), on top of taking part in the Manifestation internationale d’arts de Québec on two occasions (2001, 2005).
As a collective, BGL received several grants from Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Canada Council for the Arts, and also won the Victor-Martyn-Lynch-Staunton Award and the York Wilson Award.
In 2011, BGL won Maison symphonique de Montréal’s integration of art in architecture contest. More recently, the trio won a pan-Canadian contest launched in Montreal North (the gigantic sculpture will be installed in 2015). They also were rewarded, in 2014, at the contest that the people behind Toronto’s 2015 edition of the Pan-Am Games—an important pan-American sports event—organized to set up a piece outside the aquatic complex. They were selected to represent Canada at the Venice Biennial in 2015.
BGL’s work is part of the collections of such museums as National Art Gallery of Canada, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Musée d’art contemporain du Canada, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, as well as several private collections.
BGL is represented by Parisian Laundry, Montreal, Galerie 3, Quebec and Katharine Mulherin Gallery, Toronto.