Located in Old Montreal, Galerie Orange was founded in 2003 as a sister gallery to Galerie Lacerte (Quebec City).  Since then, the gallery has undergone some changes, most notably in June, 2009, when it became independent from Galerie Lacerte and came under the exclusive direction of Nadia Niro.

Martin Bureau's "La densité de l'air", 2009, oil and acrylic on canvas (Courtesy Galerie Orange)

Pierre Durette's "Devotion", 2009, acrylic on wood (Courtesy Galerie Orange)

Since its inception, the gallery’s mandate has always been the promotion of Canadian artists, both emerging and internationally recognized.   The gallery boasts eight annual shows that both recognize and pay tribute to the different mediums being used by today’s artists – painting, printing, drawing, photography, sculpture and installations.  More importantly, however, the gallery represents a growing trend amongst contemporary Canadian art galleries, namely its understanding that the Canadian contemporary art scene is diverse and extends well beyond forests and lakes to include the landscape of today’s psyche.

To this end, Galerie Orange does not hesitate to represent artists who explore the socio-political issues of our times.  Contemporary art is nothing if not a commentary of our current reality and this is something Galerie Orange, and its rooster of artists, seem able to recognize.

Commenting on the diversity of today’s contemporary art world, Nadia Niro states:

Nicolas Ruel's "Anthology" (Courtesy Galerie Orange)

Eveline Boulva's "Sur la Cote-Nord" (Courtesy Galerie Orange)

“In today’s international art market new mediums and styles of art are encouraged and recognized. While some artists wish to expand and extend their artistic practices away from the traditional art forms, there is still a strong presence of what we know as traditional mediums, such as painting and drawing. We try as much as possible to represent a diverse form, style and medium of art, offering our audience a varied range of works being created in today contemporary art world.

Furthermore, Canadian contemporary artists are not only influenced by Canada and all that is within it, they are also inspired by other nations around the world that have settled and emigrated to Canada. The diversity in style and subject matter from province to province is an example of how diverse Canadian contemporary art is, and reinforces the difficulty in defining Canadian Contemporary art as a whole. Canada’s diversity is what differentiates Canadian contemporary artists from others around the world. There are various elements that make up Canadian contemporary art, and whilst it may not be as distinct as African art, or Latin American art, there is definitely a feeling that comes from Canadian contemporary art which is uniquely connected to Canada’s multiculturalism and land.”

About Nadia Niro:

Nadia Niro

Nadia graduated from The Study in 1997. She continued her studies at Lower Canada College pre-university program before perusing her Bachelors in Arts (major in Sociology) at Queen’s university in Kingston, Ontario. During her third year in University she studied abroad at the Queen’s castle in East Sussex, England. Still enamored with England, Nadia decided that she would pursue job opportunities in London. In 2003, She was offered a job in new business development at 20/20 Limited, a retail branding and design consulting company. Shortly after, she went back to school full time to complete her Masters degree in Art Business at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London. At the end of her studies at Sotheby’s and three years of living in London she returned to Montreal to pursue her career in the art world. Back at home, Nadia participated in the opening of Parisian Laundry, a new contemporary art space while completing her thesis. In 2007, Nadia Niro became an associate in Galerie Orange alongside the two existing partners. In June 2009, Galerie Orange entered a new phase in which it is operating independently from its associates, under the exclusive direction of Nadia Niro.

Q: Lately, there seems to be a return towards the miniature.  I’m thinking of artists like Do Ho Suh or, closer to home, KarineGiboulo and Jason Walker. Is there something about our society that isleading certain artists in this direction?

A: I start with miniature characters as a pictorial trick. It’s what allows me to create a larger scene on a smaller canvas.

Q: Your subjects – war, torture, ect. – are huge in and of themselves. Yet miniature is often reminiscent of childhood and hiding things in pockets… trivial innocence, fun, and somewhat secretive. Why choose to paint something “so big so small”?

A: In making it small we have an aerial point of view like God’s eye. I can make a bigger scene by using smaller scale characters.

Q: Miniature began with illuminated manuscripts – it was a means of conveying the written word.  The “written words” in your series are “devotion” (the title) and “HOLY”.  I think of the obvious and historic confrontation between Christianity and Islam and the present day confrontation. Are the works a political, post 9/11 commentary?

A: Yes, it’s inspired by 9/11 but the majority of inspiration stems from the AbouGhraib jail where the torturers picture themselves in action. Since always, each war brings out the same thing in those involved with it.  It’s the almost mechanized repetition of what it brings out that is explored in this series.

Q: There’s an incredible element of play in your work – the school bus, the police car juxtaposed in the middle of historically dressed figures.  Moreover, they too retain some of the “toy like” qualities that the figures possess…All of this lends to the work a certain nonchalance.  There does not appear to be any overt judgment on the various horrors going on.  I can’t help but think of our modern day immunity to the war and destruction that surrounds us.  Are the works an observation of our neutrality/indifference to our present day world?

A: Yes, there is a certain indifference with conflict in our society. I believe there is a disillusion and cynicism about everything. When it comes to my work, there tends to be two interpretations: Those who observe the critic in my drawings and those who see it as a sort of “Where’s Waldo?” game.

Q: You worked on this series for two years.  What was it that fascinated you about it?

A: The scene and placing of time with an anachronistic play is what I like best in my work. Create a universe where we can see a few small scenes and if we see all the drawing it forms a bigger different scene.

Q: How would the series be different if you had decided to depict the figures on a larger scale?

A: A few years ago, I began a new series (no longer miniature) entitled “Expiations” (the one on my website). The idea came from my wish to isolate a scene in order to make it larger. My desire was to express clearly the tensions of torture.

Q: There is something very abstract about your work.  What has prevented you from becoming purely abstract?

A: Abstract art has no interest in my practice except for the pictorial composition.. From far, my small characters look like stars constellations

Q: What’s next for Pierre Durette?

A: Next step is to finish the series Expiations. My next work is a series of photographs where I’ll go deeper into my research on traffic identity in times between middle age and science fiction.

All pictures for this article were provided by the Artist.  Checkout Pierre’s website at www.pierredurette.com.  Pierre is represented by galerie Orange at www.galerieorange.com