Combining BGL, Pierre Ayot, Cozic and Gilles Mihalcean, among other big names, the very first exhibition of Chiguer contemporary art at the Belgo indeed evokes fantasy. High in color and sometimes even frankly funny, it also marks the realization of a fantasy, that of Abdelilah Chiguer, who had dreamed for years of opening his own permanent space in Montreal.
The man who gives his name to the gallery may be at his first Montreal address, but he is already well known in the Quebec contemporary art scene. Co-founder of Galerie 3 in Quebec in 2015, he also renamed his gallery in the capital, after Norbert Langlois, one of the three co-founders with Pascal Champoux, who died in 2017, sold his shares to Mr. Chiguer at the end of 2022.
“I wanted our first exhibition at the Belgo to highlight artists from Quebec and Montreal who have had an incredible career, but who may have been under our radar for a few years,” explains the gallery owner. He is mainly referring here to Cozic and Pierre Ayot, “favorites” who have been the subject of museum exhibitions in recent years, but who were no longer represented by galleries since the gallery’s definitive closure. Graffiti in 2017.
Emerging artists
The opening of his new Montreal store also marks a change of strategy for Mr. Chiguer, looking to the future. Co-president of the Association of Contemporary Art Galleries (AGAC), he founded, in 2021, Artroduction, a virtual gallery and a launch platform for young local artists. Now having more space to exhibit the twenty or so artists he represents — including François Morelli, Paryse Martin, Laurent Craste and Martin Bureau — he will permanently dedicate, starting this spring, half of his Quebec gallery to exhibitions of emerging artists under the banner of Artroduction.
“There is a balance to be struck between our positioning as a gallery [commerciale] and the showcase we want to give to the next generation, supports Mr. Chiguer. It’s still interesting for young people to have a place where they can make themselves known outside of Montreal” He nevertheless specifies that it is especially “artists in the middle or at the end of their career” that to see in Belgium. In May, Chiguer contemporary art will dedicate an exhibition to Dan Brault, followed by Annie Baillargeon in June, Laurent Craste in September and Claudie Gagnon in October.
The gallery owner does not hide the great ambitions that motivated him to settle in Montreal, after having organized several ephemeral exhibitions in the metropolis. “About 50% of our gallery’s sales come from outside Quebec,” he says. It’s mainly in Montreal that it happens in the current art market in Quebec, especially since we can [désormais] reach interesting markets like Ottawa more easily. In 2024, Mr. Chiguer would even like to bring his artists beyond the Canadian borders, and he is aiming for the prestigious fairs in New York or Miami. He should also produce nearly ten exhibitions per year.
Show its colors
When you enter the new gallery for the first time, you immediately recognize the personal touches that Mr. Chiguer has wanted to bring to the company since he took the reins in solo. Starting with the pink doors of the small room nestled at 4e stage. “It remains a type of space white cube, so pretty classic, but I’ve always been colorful, so I wanted that to reflect here too. »
During the opening at which The duty attended last Thursday, tea was notably served, to the tunes of Moroccan music. Born in Morocco and established in Quebec for twenty years, Mr. Chiguer wants his work to reflect the pride that his two cultures inspire in him. On a daily basis, it is, he says, his “love of artists” and his “collector’s disease” that motivate him. It was when he started collecting art when he was director of supply for companies in Quebec that he wanted to become a gallery owner.
The exhibition even subtly echoes its journey since 2015. On one wall are hung photographs representing a BGL performance where the collective organized a public barbecue, in a street in London, using a manhole like a grill. “It is symbolic for me to present this work which was part of the first exhibition at Galerie 3. Then we added other new pieces, but they are still very funny. »
Also on the menu, as many paintings as installations or sculptures, created by fourteen artists in total. “All this variety is quite unique for a gallery at the Belgo”, specifies Mr. Chiguer, proud of his first exhibition in Montreal and optimistic for the future.