Laur P
Laur P’s work offers a speculative visibility of paleo-ecological compositions in becoming, an imaginary space that they investigate from a queer-crip perspective.
Fragments of inter-species compositions compress through a process of accretion, decomposition and re-emergence. They seek fossilization and indetermination, paying particular attention to the agential force of the materials they use. This intuitive and taphonomic approach allows to visualize entanglements that are at once underworldly and topographical, micro- and macroscopic, and in which various temporal and metaphorical dimensions intersect.
On the periphery of eco-critical considerations of contemporary nature-cultures and the hauntings they reveal, their assemblages of pictorial fossils invite a rapprochement between the formal contemplation of materials that are associated in their work and their intertwined intentions, which are, to disrupt speciesist understandings of evolution and natural phenomena, to disturb the tradition of the landscape as a space for humanistic representation of nature, to disorient ableist pictorial conventions, and therefore to resist anthropocentric myopia.
Laur P is based in Tiohtià:ke-Mooniyang-Montréal. They hold an MFA from the University of Guelph (2021) and a BFA from Concordia University with Great Distinction (2015). Throughout their academic background, they received several awards including the Joseph-Armand-Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship (SSHRC, University of Guelph) and the Betty Goodwin Prize in Studio Arts (Concordia University), and their current program of work is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts. Their work has recently been exhibited in Montréal (Galerie Nicolas Robert, McClure Gallery, McBride Contemporary), Toronto (Galerie Nicolas Robert, the Plumb, Birch Contemporary) and New York (Sargent's Daughters). They recently exhibited two solo presentations, at Sargent’s Daughters (New York, August 2023) and at Galerie Nicolas Robert (Toronto, February-March 2024). Laur P's work is part of the collections of the Art Gallery of Ontario, Hydro-Québec, the Royal Bank of Canada and Medcan, among others.
Recent exhibitions
Laur P - If Daffodil Was an Egg
From February 15 to March 23, 2024
Art Toronto 2023
From October 27-29, 2023
Laur P - A Scape Unnamed From September 11 to October 16, 2021
Laur P - Spongieuses
From December 1st to January 26, 2019
Selected Artworks
+ CV
EDUCATION
2018-20 - MFA in Studio Arts, University of Guelph, Guelph (ON)
2015 - BFA in Studio Arts, Great distinction, Concordia University, Montreal (QC)
GRANTS AND DISTINCTION
2019
- Deans'Tri-Council Scholarship, Univerity of Guelph
- Joseph-Armand-Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship (SSHRC)
- College of Arts Graduate Research and Travel Award, University of Guelph
2018
- University Graduate Scholarship, University of Guelph
- Graduate Research Assistantship, University of Guelph
- Dean’s Material Bursary, University of Guelph
2017
- Young Volunteers grant, Emploi-Quebec
2015
- Betty Goodwin Prize in Studio Arts, Concordia University
- Lise-Helene Larin Award, Concordia University
2014
- Cecil Buller et John J.A. Murphy Scholarship, Concordia University
2013
- Faculty of Fine Arts Development Fund Bursary, Concordia University
2012
- Faculty of Fine Arts Development Fund Scholarship, Concordia University
COLLECTIONS
Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO)
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
Desjardins
Hydro-Québec
Medcan
Royal bank of Canada
Scotiabank
St-Michael Hospital
+ Solo Exhibitions
2024
- If Daffodil Was an Egg, Galerie Nicolas Robert, Toronto (ON)
2023
- Benthic Ravers, Sargent‘s Daughters, New York (NY)
2021
- A Scape Unnamed, Galerie Nicolas Robert, Montreal (QC)
2020
- Holo(géo)biont, virtual exhibition, Galerie Nicolas Robert, Montréal (QC)
2018
- Spongieuses, Galerie Nicolas Robert, Montreal (QC)
- It Once Was a Garden, McClure Gallery, Montreal (QC)
2016
- Comme si de rien n’était, Ymuno Exhibitions, Montreal, QC.
+ Selected Group Exhibitions
2023
- Earthly, Galerie Nicolas Robert, Toronto (ON)
- Touchstones, Sargent‘s Daughters, New York (NY)
2021
- Still Daylight, Galerie Nicolas Robert, Toronto (ON)
2018
- New Energy, Boarding House Gallery, Guelph (ON)
- Coetus Floerus, Galerie Nicolas Robert, Montreal (QC)
- Laboratoire Peinture, curator: Benjamin Klein, Deux Poissons Gallery, Montreal (QC)
- Grâce au dessin, part 1, curator: Jason McKechnie, Nan Rae Gallery, Burbank, CA, USA
- Grâce au dessin, part 2, curator: Jason McKechnie, Art Mûr, Montreal (QC)
2017
- Deçà Delà, with Rosamunde Bordo, Ymuno Exhibitions, Montreal (QC)
- Settling the Ghost, Standard Projects, curator: Kate Mothes, Hortonville, WI, USA
2016
- Matières en suspens, POPOP Gallery, Montreal (QC)
2015
- Figurative Reflections, VAV Gallery, Montreal (QC)
- Off Kilter, Espace Fibre, Art Matters Festival, Montreal (QC)
2014
- Endroits / Passages, Galerie Onze, curator: Leopold Plotek, Montreal (QC)
- ImPressEd, Atelier-Galerie Alain Piroir, Montreal (QC)
- COMBINE 2014, FOFA Gallery, Montreal (QC)
- Art and Other Organisms, VAV Gallery, Montreal (QC)
+ Art Fairs
2023
- Art Toronto (ON)
- PLURAL, Montréal (QC)
2022
- NADA, New York (NY)
- FAAQ, Québec (QC)
2021
- Papier, Montréal (QC)
2020
- Papier, Montréal (QC)
2019
- Art Toronto, Toronto (ON)
- Papier, Montréal (QC)
2018
- Art Toronto, Toronto (ON)
**+ Press and Publications **
2019
- CLÉMENT, Éric (2019). « Virée des galeries : Laurence Pilon », La Presse Plus, [Online], published on January 3, https://bit.ly/3ic6gCe
2018
- Auteur inconnu. (2018). « Art Toronto - Editor’s Picks Day 2 », Border Crossings, [Online], published on October 27.
- CHARRON, Marie-Ève (2018). «Prometteuse Laurence Pilon à la Galerie Nicolas Robert», Le Devoir, [Online], published December 22, https://bit.ly/2GigX3Y.
- ENGLAND, Sarah Nicole (2018). «It Once Was a Garden de Laurence Pilon, vernissage le jeudi 3 mai à 18h à la galerie McClure», Réseau Art Actuel, [Online], published May 3, https://bit.ly/2Uqqj2u.