Ed Pien
"Bodies are intertwined and made complex through the superimposition of multiple drawings. A compact and originary mass gives rise to a new body that is ever-shifting and fantastical. A fiction impresses itself on the viewer. It engulfs us, calling on us to take part in this monstration that allows neither defense nor judgement. The artist forces us to participate and involves us in his questioning.”
Excerpt from the preface of the exhibition catalogue, by Isabelle de Mévius
This fall, 1700 La Poste is proud to present a solo exhibition dedicated to Canadian artist Ed Pien.
Ed Pien is inspired by the myths and traditions of both West and East. Over nearly three decades, he has created a rich œuvre whose themes provoke moral and political reflection in viewers. Emerging out of a spontaneous process, his drawings are rooted in Pien’s study of historical representations of Hell and their relation to depictions of human atrocities and the violence of war.
Ed Pien is a multidisciplinary artist based in Toronto. 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. 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.
Les Éditions de Mévius
Ed Pien
Les Éditions de Mévius is publishing an extensively illustrated catalogue with a preface by Isabelle de Mévius, curator and executive director of 1700 La Poste, and texts by artist, writer, and professor Robert Luzar and independent curator and writer Angela Kingston.
Publication
2018
Format
25,5 x 30,5 x 2 cm
ISBN
978-2-9816657-2-0
Bookbinding
Hardcover
Collection
Art and essays
Number of pages
128
Authors
Isabelle de Mévius, Angela Kingston, Robert Luzar
Photography
Dave Kemp, Guy L'Heureux, Ed Pien, Johannes Zits, McIntosh Gallery
