Carole BAILLARGEON
Carole Baillargeon is a sculptor who participates in the revival of textile techniques in contemporary art, while evoking environmental and ecological concerns. The artist recycles denim to create surprising anthropomorphic sculptural works, offering the viewer access to a powerful narrative about the human condition. Complex, vulnerable and impermanent, humans are treated as the main subject in Baillargeon’s clothing sculptures. This orientation develops into a hybrid practice that boldly combines visual arts, set design, creative art crafts and more.
The pyro-engravings, executed on handmade paper, are part of the summer inspired installation, Été, Paysages-Vêtements. Young models are represented by a play of textures and colors. Here, the artist highlights the relationship between the individual and her living environment, evoking the importance of clothing. Being both material and formal sculpture, the garment is a testament to the human being and our ability to adapt to the constraints of the environment.
The project Ainsi… presents real scissors or old tools, covered with fragments of fabric that were then taken by hand. The work embodies the dual role of victim and executioner; it highlights the changing working conditions in a world where automation is growing. Strange, imperfect but beautiful, each assemblage takes the form of a figurine marked by the passage of time and memories.
Over the past three decades, Carole Baillargeon’s art practice achieved recognition in Québec, America and Europe. She has been awarded many prizes and grants throughout her career. Notably, she received the prize Hommage en métiers d’art in 2016, and the prize for the international influence of her art at the Galas des prix Excellence Arts et Culture for the Québec and Chaudière-Appalaches regions. She has been honored with the grand prize of the City of Québec at the biennial show Découverte in 1993. She completed her Ph.D in Study and Practice of Arts at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), a Master Degree in Fine Arts at Concordia University in Montréal and a BA in Scenography for Theater at Concordia University. Recently, the exhibition Paysages-Vêtements has been presented in: Montréal, Trois-Rivières, Québec and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Baie-Saint-Paul. She lives and works in Deschambault and Québec City.
