The artist

For almost ten years, Raphaëlle de Groot has engaged herself in a polymorphous work that cannot be described through the artistic mediums she employs – drawing, performance, video, installation, edition or curatorial undertakings.

In fact, her work develops through projects or strategies involving the artist alone or with others – as some projects are conceived for groups of persons with a shared experience. She voluntarily refrains from assigning goals to these strategies (drawing blindfolded, painting while constraints severely restrict her movements or obeying someone else’s instructions), which she uses to experiment with a situation. Whether acting alone or with others (workers, visually impaired persons, nuns, domestique help), she remains decidedly committed to the process at work and constantly strives to safeguard the utmost sensitivity to what her devices bring about and, above all, to what she does not expect. Attention to details, to what seems unimportant, unsubstantial or uninteresting is one of the main keys to understanding her approach. Her practice is akin to investigative procedures and to research and experimentation methods.

If there is one ambition pervading her choices and strategies, it is that of ever calling into question and bringing into play all the factors that form the basis of an artistic gesture, starting with the standpoint of the artist, author, actor, mentor … right down to the very limits of his field of action and the conditions in which the work emerges.

Text: Dominique Abensour, April 2008
Translation: Marie-José Daoust

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Biographical note

Raphaëlle de Groot was born in 1974 in Montreal (Canada) where she lives and works.

Her work has been the subject of several solo exhibitions in Canada and abroad, the most recent being Chantiers (Le Quartier, Quimper, France, 2008), Il volto interiore (Galleria Z2O – Sara Zanin, Rome, Italy, 2007) and Raphaëlle de Groot. En exercice (Galerie de l’UQAM, Montréal, 2006). She has participated in many group shows, including Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed (The Québec Triennial 2008, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal), Making Real (Quebec Scene, Ottawa, 2007), Negotiating Us, Here and Now (Leeds City Art Gallery, Leeds, UK, 2005), Just my Imagination (ArtLab, John Labatt Visual Arts Centre, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada, 2004), and “We come in peace...” Histories of the Americas (Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, 2004).

De Groot has often worked in the framework of artist residencies. Between 2002 and 2004, she stayed in Italy at the Cittadellarte-Fondazione Pistoletto (Biella), where she carried out a project with workers in a textile factory. After that experience, she started exploring art-related contexts (art schools, museums and exhibition spaces) as settings to directly involve visitors and groups of students in art making processes. De Groot’s artistic practice is also regularly fuelled by multi- and inter-disciplinary collaborations. From 1999 to 2001, under the aegis of the Centre d’histoire de Montréal and the Association des aides familiales du Québec, she produced the exhibition Beyond the Call of Duty. Chronicles of Domestic Work in Private Homes 1920-2000. As curator, she instigated and presented the urban event Mémoire vive (Dare-Dare and the Centre d’histoire de Montréal, 2002). Since 2005, she has been working with landscape architect Robert Desjardins and architect Gavin Affleck on a new concept for the development of Square des Frères-Charon, slated for completion in the fall of 2008.

Raphaëlle de Groot holds Master’s degree in visual and media arts from the Université du Québec à Montréal. She was awarded several grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. In 2006, she was awarded the Pierre-Ayot Prix d’excellence by the City of Montreal and in 2008 she is nominated for the Sobey Art Award

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SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2008

• Chantiers, Le Quartier, centre d’art contemporain de Quimper, Quimper (France), curator / Dominique Abensour

2007

• Il volto interiore, Sara Zanin Z2O Galleria, Rome (Italy); curator / Cecilia Casorati

2006

• Raphaëlle de Groot. En exercice, Galerie de l’UQAM, Montreal (Quebec, Canada); curator / Louise Déry

2004

• Raphaëlle de Groot, Le Quartier, Quimper; curator / Dominique Abensour

2002

• Colin-maillard, Centre Marguerite-d’Youville, Montreal

2001

• Dévoilements, Occurrence, espace d’art et d’essai contemporain, Montreal

2000

• Microcosme, Le Lobe, Chicoutimi (Quebec)

1999

• Lectures, Centre des arts actuels Skol, Montreal

1997

• Reconnaissance, Dare-Dare, Centre de diffusion d’art multidisciplinaire de Montréal, Montreal

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GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2008

• Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed, The Québec Triennial 2008, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Montreal; curators / Josée Bélisle, Paulette Gagnon, Marc Lanctôt, Pierre Landry

2007

• Rendre réel / Making Real, 106 Sparks Street, Quebec Scene Gallery, National Arts Centre, Ottawa (Ontario); curator / Marie Fraser

2006

• Arte al Centro – Il Gioco, Cittadellarte-Fondazione Pistoletto, Biella (Italy); artistic direction / Michelangelo Pistoletto

2005

• Negotiating Us, Here and Now, Leeds City Art Gallery and Artist House, Leeds (United Kingdom); curators / Bryan Davies and Nigel Walsh

2004

• Just my Imagination, Art Lab, John Labatt Visual Arts Centre, University of Western Ontario, and Museum London, London (Ontario, Canada); curators / MMB collective. 2005-2007: Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor (Ontario); Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art, Toronto (Ontario); Dalhousie Art Gallery, Halifax (Nova Scotia); Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon (Saskatchewan); Art Gallery of Algoma, Sault Ste-Marie (Ontario); Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Calgary (Alberta); Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge (Alberta)
• Ils causent des systèmes, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (Quebec); curator / Anne-Marie Ninacs
• Regarder, observer, surveiller, Galerie Séquence, Chicoutimi; curator / Nicole Gingras
• « We Come in Peace... » Histories of the Americas, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Montreal; curator / Pierre Landry
• Opening Show, Artist House, Leeds; curator / Bryan Davies

2003

• GRAFF/Graff, Galerie Graff, Montreal; coordination / Christiane Desjardins
• Michelangelo Pistoletto & Cittadellarte &, MuHKA, Antwerpen (Belgium); artistic direction / Michelangelo Pistoletto and Bart De Baere
• Espacios Mestizos, 2nd International Meeting of Contemporary Art, Osorio, Canary Islands (Spain); curator / Orlando Britto Jinorio

2001

• Point de chute, Galerie de l’UQAM, Montreal. Circulation 2001: Centre d’art contemporain de Bruxelles, Bruxelles (Belgium); curator / Louise Déry

2000

• L’algèbre d’Ariane, exchange project organized by the artist run centre Dare-Dare; part 1: contemporary art centre Les Brasseurs, Liège (Belgium); part 2: vacant commercial space in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Montreal; curators / Stéphane Gilot and Caroline Boileau
• L’arène des livres, Centre d’exposition de l’Université de Montréal, Montreal; curator / Florence Chantoury

1998

• Questions d’identités, Galerie Verticale, Laval (Quebec); curator / Marie-Claude Guay

1996

• Valérie Blass, Hugo Brodeur, Raphaëlle de Groot, Ani Deschênes, Martin Valiquette, Galerie Clark, Montreal

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PERFORMANCES AND INTERVENTIONS

2007

• Materia viva, series of performances with Mirko Sabatini (musician), July 28-29, as part of Il volo nella rocca di Carmignano organized by Théâtre en vol, Carmignano (Florence) and December 20, Il cantiere, Rome

2006-07

• Projection of the video Drawing Session in the programming Videoism #1, Casual destruction and other forms of violence showed at Mains d'œuvres (St-Ouen, France), October 2006, RLBQ Gallery (Marseille, France), November 2006, Galería 10+36 (Medellin, Colombia), November 2006, Lago Film Festival (Lago, Italy), July 2007, Sjoredsfestivalen (Gothemberg, Sweden), August 2007; curator/Charlie Jeffrey

2005

• Series of performances presented as part of Negotiating Us, Here and Now, Leeds City Art Gallery and Leeds University, Leeds

2003

• One person, two sheets of paper, a stapler, paint and brush, performance presented during a book launch for Gestes d’artistes / Artists’ Gestures, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, New York (United States)

2002

• One person, two sheets of paper, a stapler, paint and brush, performance presented as part of Circo Fragile, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, Pavia (Italy); curator / Filippo Fabrica

2001

• Collecte de poussière, urban intervention carried out as part of Gestes d’artistes / Artists’ Gestures organized by Optica, Square Cabot, Montreal; curator / Marie Fraser and Marie-Josée Lafortune 2000

2000

• Placement of bookplates in 160 books in the Bibliothèque centrale de la Ville de Montréal, as part of the intervention Lectures, Montreal
• Bibliothèque parallèle, placement of doctored books at the Bibliothèque Les Chiroux, Liège, Belgium, as part of the intervention L’algèbre d’Ariane

1999

• Mémoire X99-Y04.25, urban intervention carried out as part of the event “25 avril 1849, le Parlement brûle!” organized by the Centre d’histoire de Montréal, Place d’Youville parking lot, Montreal
• Collecte d’empreintes, intervention carried out at the Bibliothèque Les Chiroux in association with the contemporary art centre Les brasseurs, Liège

1998

• Collecte d’empreintes, intervention carried out at the Bibliothèque centrale de la Ville de Montréal, in association with the Centre des arts actuels Skol

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ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

2008

• Chantiers, Le Quartier, Quimper

2005

• Negotiating Us, Here and Now, Artist House, Leeds

2004

• Just my Imagination, University of Western Ontario, London

2003/2004

• 8x5x363+1, Cittadellarte-Fondazione Pistoletto, Biella

2003

• Espacios Mestizos, 2nd International Meeting of Contemporary Art, Osorio, Canary

2002

• UNIDEE in Residence, International Program, Cittadellarte-Fondazione Pistoletto, Biella
• Ateliers Graff, Montreal

2000

• L’algèbre d’Ariane, Les Brasseurs, Liège

1999

• Microcosme, Le Lobe, Chicoutimi

1998/1999

• Dévoilements, Religieuses hospitalières de Saint-Joseph (congregation of nuns), Musée des Hospitalières, Montreal
• Centre Canadien d’Architecture, Montreal

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GRANTS AND AWARDS

• Finalist (shortlist) for the Sobey Art Award 2008 and nominations for the years 2002 and 2007
• B grant, research and creation, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2007
• Pierre Ayot award, City of Montreal, 2006
• A2 grant for graduate studies, FQRSC, 2004-06
• Creation/production grant, Canada Council for the Arts, 2001 and 2004
• Travel grant, Canada Council for the Arts, 2002
• Travel grant, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, 1999 and 2002
• Travel grant, Agence Québec/Wallonie-Bruxelles pour la jeunesse, 2000
• B4 grant, stage de perfectionnement dans les arts, FCAR, 1998-99

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COLLECTIONS

• Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Montreal.
• Collection Prêt d’œuvres d’art, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Quebec.
• City of Montreal.
• Private collections.

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CURATORIAL WORK AND COLLABORATIONS

2007

• Participation in the UNESCO urban design workshop « Imaginer la place d’Armes », set up by Design Montréal together with the City of Montreal, October 20 to 27 2007 at the Fabrique of Notre-Dame Basilica and the Galerie d’architecture Monopoli
  http://vieux.montreal.qc.ca/placedarmes/

2005/2007

• Part of the multidisciplinary team set up by the City of Montreal for the development of the Square des Frères- Charon, Montreal

2003/2004

• Guest artist for architectural firm Atlante architecture + design, for the development of interventions to highlight the permanent exhibition at the Jardins de Métis’ Villa Estevan, Grand-Métis (Québec) 2002-04

2002/2004

• 8x5x363+1, multi-part project (artist in residence, intervention, exhibition, publication, symposium) organized in association with Cittadellarte-Fondazione Pistoletto and the Lanificio F.lli Cerruti, a textile factory in Biella

2000/2002

• Mémoire vive, curatorial work, a project organized in association with Dare-Dare, Centre de diffusion d’art multidisciplinaire de Montréal, and the Centre d’histoire de Montréal

2001

• Toujours serviables, jamais servantes, intervention organized in the streets of Montreal with a group of domestic workers and the Association des aides familiales du Québec (AAFQ)

1999/2001

• Beyond the Call of Duty. Chronicles of Domestic Work in Private Homes 1920-2000, exhibition commissioned by the Centre d’histoire de Montréal in association with the AAFQ

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ARTIST’S BOOK

• De Groot, Raphaëlle.- Dévoilements.- With the participation of the Congregation of the Religieuses hospitalières de Saint-Joseph, Montreal.- 2001.- 98 p.- Limited edition (20 copies).
• De Groot, Raphaëlle.- Lectures.- Montreal.- 1999.- 4 volumes.

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PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENTS

2008

• Workshop L’été des concierges, as part of the class Atelier projet de creation (master program), École des arts visuels et médiatiques, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), conducted by Monique Régimbald-Zeiber
• Workshop L’art d’accommoder les restes, École supérieure des beaux-arts de Cornouaille, Quimper
• Workshop Autour des restes, École d’art de la Communauté de l’Agglomération d’Annecy, Annecy, France
• Guest artist, Concordia University, Montréal

2007

• Guest artist, Université Laval, Quebec City
• Guest artist, UQAM, Montreal
• Visiting artist, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge

2006

• Guest critic as part of the interdisciplinary workshop in the arts, Le corps et ses accents, UQAM, Montreal
• Guest speaker, Université Laval, Quebec
• Workshop Art and Work, UNIDEE in Residence International Program, Cittadellarte-Fondazione Pistoletto, Biella

2005

• Guest speaker, Drawing Symposium, Dalhousie Art Gallery, Halifax
• Guest speaker, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax
• Guest speaker, Concordia University, Montreal

2004

• Visiting artist, University of Western Ontario, London
• Guest speaker, Speakers Series, Museum London, London
• Workshop Art and Work, UNIDEE in Residence International Program, Cittadellarte-Fondazione Pistoletto, Biella
• Guest speaker, Arte Fiera 2004, Bologna (Italy), with Cittadellarte- Fondazione Pistoletto.

2003

• Guest speaker, Jan Van Eyck Akademie, Maastricht (Netherlands)
• Guest speaker, interdisciplinary meeting, research group Arteconomy, Constructies Espeel n.v., Roeselare (Belgium)
• Workshop on strategies to broaden the audience, RCAAQ, Montreal
• Guest critic in the course Forme et fonction, École d’architecture de l’Université de Montréal

2001

• Guest speaker, symposium Rétrospective: la mémoire, Galerie B-312, Montreal
• Guest speaker in the course Histoire et fonction des musées, Université de Montréal
• Guest speaker in the course Canadian Church History, McGill University, Montreal

1997-03

• Member of the board of directors, Dare-Dare, Centre de diffusion d’art multidisciplinaire de Montréal

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STUDIES

2004/2006

• Master’s degree, Écoles des arts visuels et médiatiques, Université du Québec à Montréal

1996/1997

• State University of New York, Purchase College (United States), CRÉPUQ exchange programs

1993/1997

• Bachelor’s degree in visual art, Université du Québec à Montréal