A series of twelve sculptures created through the amalgamation of varied objects collected in garage sales, at dump sites and in nature. Each piece is assembled as a piece of furniture with doors is autonomous and tells its own story. Everyday objects blended and reconstructed in a unique and fantastic perspective. Juxtaposition of materials that suggests the complementarities of exterior and interior. Behind open doors, notions of curiosity and self-reference emerge.
“And inside are enigmatic, stripped down, semi-resolved assemblages. One is struck by a sense of emptiness and elegance – and a rare quality of restraint and beauty. […] Vaillancourt’s restraint and exceptional sense of selection comes to the fore. The mystery and grace that he conveys is both meditative and aesthetically pleasing. […] It is not uncommon to see work that transforms everyday objects into art. Vaillancourt’s “doors” are a fascinating addition to the practice of assemblage, which is a highly creative, three-dimensional way of exploring visual ideas.”
Excerpt from article by Rob O’Flanagan, Sudbury Star, Saturday, April 7, 2001
Laurent Vaillancourt
Laurent Vaillancourt participated in the cultural awakening movement of French Ontario in the early 1970s and remains intimately linked to this community. Hearst, in northern Ontario, remains his home base. The artist has been and continues to be fascinated by the steel cable, a true metaphor for his deep desire to link together, through this symbolic material, the people of the small communities with which he identifies. Steel cable is rarely used as a raw material. Its flexibility, its curves, its elegance and its torsional strength are the attributes that Vaillancourt explores by manipulating it. Found objects are also increasingly elements that form part of its basic materials. For the artist, the object carries meaning. The object is an artefact. It is used to tell stories.
Artist Profile