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JOHANNE CORNO SYLVAIN TREMBLAY

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Page 1: JOHANNE CORNO SYLVAIN TREMBLAY - Opera Gallery · 6 Dubai bolD on fluo green Mixed media Diptych: 152,5 x 305 cm - 60 x 120 in. 7 CORNO’SsTATEMENT I’ve been painting for 30 years

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JOHANNE CORNOSYLVA IN TREMBLAY

Page 2: JOHANNE CORNO SYLVAIN TREMBLAY - Opera Gallery · 6 Dubai bolD on fluo green Mixed media Diptych: 152,5 x 305 cm - 60 x 120 in. 7 CORNO’SsTATEMENT I’ve been painting for 30 years

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JOHANNE CORNO SYLVA IN TREMBLAY

Opera Gallery is pleased to announce an upcoming exhibition that includes a retrospective of artworks by two renowned contemporary artists from Canada: Johanne Corno and Sylvain Tremblay. These artists play a vital role in the American Art Market. One by her thick texture mostly realized by a brightness of colors depicting erotic faces. The other, by his very unique technique, combining an abundance of materials on canvas. On the way she underlines the faces of her characters, in their eyes and the freedom and ecstasy they express, we cannot deny that Corno’s work is inspired by American pop art and artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein from the 60s and 70s. On the other hand, the composition of Tremblay’s paintings can refer to American street art and artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat. Johanne Corno is a Canadian female artist based in New York, who distinguishes her style by representing erotic faces. Inspired by neo pop art, her style is very much orbiting towards a use of bright and funky colors slashed and applied roughly with a handful of strokes. These multiple strokes therefore create movement, dynamism and momentum: beautiful and sumptuous faces accentuated by the movement of their hair and the rotation of their faces.

Sylvain Tremblay is another well - established artist who combines resin and lacquer on canvas. His type of representation draws its lines between abstraction and figurative. Individuals represented on his canvases are limited significantly by the use of outer lines underlining simply and specifically their silhouettes. Characters of men and women are mainly presented on the foreground whereas the background focuses on colors and shine with the use of acrylic, mosaics of colors and a varnish that emphasizes the brightness of the piece compared to the plasticity of the metallic lustre.

Opera Gallery wishes you a prosper year and a pleasant evening in our special exhibition. We hope the event will inspire our observers’ imagination and strive them into new heights and new ideas.

Once again, we look forward to seeing you in Opera Gallery.

Ahmad BachanManager

Opera Gallery Dubai

Gilles DyanFounder and ChairmanOpera Gallery Group

Page 3: JOHANNE CORNO SYLVAIN TREMBLAY - Opera Gallery · 6 Dubai bolD on fluo green Mixed media Diptych: 152,5 x 305 cm - 60 x 120 in. 7 CORNO’SsTATEMENT I’ve been painting for 30 years

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In a city where the skyline is populated with towering skyscrapers, the French limestone façade of the 14 - storey Ritz - Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) represents a bold and refreshing contrast among its lofty neighbours. The 341- room hotel, with 124 executive residences, offers an elegantly contemporary design and art deco elements within a stately exterior.

Keeping with the overall master plan of the adjacent financial district which is determinedly low- rise and urban in design, world - renowned architect Gensler, ensured The Ritz - Carlton maintained this original vision while drawing influence from the best European architecture. The urban environment of The Ritz - Carlton was considered at every opportunity and is showcased with a sunken garden, colonnade, and abundance of lush, shaded outdoor terraces, a revealing Middle Eastern influence. The private, residential feel one would expect from a noble chateau is established with the private courtyard and porte cochere; it is delicately balanced by intentional feng shui elements including eight striking water features throughout the hotel and a dramatic 10 - storey outdoor waterfall cascading down the building and into the courtyard.

“There are many water elements throughout the hotel which provide a soothing aesthetic quality to such an urban location,” says General Manager Lothar Quarz. “The fact that modern design wisdom perceives the constant flow of water to be auspicious bodes well for our hotel which we hope will be a hit among wedding and meeting planners.”

Entering the hotel lobby, all eyes are automatically drawn upwards to the three-storey high lobby ceiling. In lieu of a traditional chandelier showpiece, 44 crystal stems designed to resemble frosted branches in the moonlight, illuminate the lobby. Each of these contemporary light sculptures are meticulously positioned by hand to the silver leaf ceiling, and comprises of full lead crystals in various sizes and shapes - octagon, tear drop, almond, square, pendeloque, and pear. These visual masterpieces are by the renowned Prague-based lighting artisans at Lasvit (the name, a blend of two Czech words meaning “love” and “light,”) who have created some of the most original light installations around the world.

A unique concept in hotel design, The Ritz - Carlton, DIFC offers two separate planes from which guests can access the hotel and facilities, the lobby and the podium level. Providing traditional ground level access at the lobby level, guests can find the front desk, guest services and Can Can, the all - day dining French brasserie. The podium level features a walkway directly attached to Dubai International Financial Centre, and is the only hotel to do so. The social hub will be at No. 5 Lounge & Bar that is located in the prime welcoming position at the end of this pathway. The room is masculine in texture and tone with leather panelled walls and a dark walnut plank floor; perfect for relaxing with a drink and cigar.

The Lobby Lounge & Terrace which overlooks the main hotel reception is designed as a sleek salon with tailored furniture and low tables situated on custom designed oriental carpets. Combined with the contemporary Lasvit chandelier, the overall effect is one of glamour.

The Center Cut steak restaurant balances a palette of dark burgundy wine and rich butterscotch, with wood plank floors surrounded by dark green marble. The central banquette features a sculptural whirlwind of handmade glass leaves supported by silver cables. Striking ink-on -paper portraits of bulls are featured throughout the room. In contrast to the muted tones of Center Cut and No. 5 Lounge & Bar, the signature fine dining Thai restaurant, Blue Rain, offers a very minimal design emphasized by blue and gold shades. A water feature spills down one wall and through

the centre of the room under a glass floor - a very contemporary version of the water in the Court of the Lions at the Alhambra and a hand -blown glass bubble chandelier, also by Lasvit, runs the entire length of the room. Blue Rain looks out to the porte cochere from behind the 10 - storey high waterfall in the main courtyard.

A dramatic 30 meter (100 feet) wine wall runs the length of the corridor connecting Center Cut and Blue Rain. Home to over 3,500 bottles of the finest varietals in the world, it is a focal point for gourmands and wine connoisseurs.

The expansive Samaya Ballroom (Arabic for “My Sky”), measures 1,400 square meters (15,106 square feet), was a major factor in the overall hotel layout due to its size. The roofscape overtop the ballroom was conceptualized to make use of the area by bringing an additional element of outdoor space to the property and also creating a rooftop Fountain Terrace perfect for weddings and other special events. Notable factors that make the Samaya Ballroom a standout for event planners includes the ground level location, private driveway and hotel entrance, underground loading dock and service areas, pillar - and chandelier - free function space with ceiling height of six meters (19 feet), motor vehicle access directly into the ballroom as well as retractable walls which make the room divisible by four. With the ability to host events from 10 to 1,500 people, The Ritz - Carlton, DIFC is Dubai’s ultimate destination for stylish and luxurious meetings and events.

Ritz - Carlton guests will feel right at home with fine crystal chandeliers and oriental carpets used throughout the hotel but in a non - traditional manner with colourful designs of Eastern influence. Inspiration from the Middle East surroundings can be seen in the featured artwork of Arabian horses.

All guestrooms showcase floor - to - ceiling windows filled with natural light. The spacious feel is continued through most rooms with glass open-concept bathrooms and each feature televisions embedded in the mirrors. Guestrooms range from 45 square meters (484 square feet) to 220 square meters (2,368 square feet) in size and all vary in shape, as well. The two Royal Suites have upholstered walls of creamy silk and matching drapery in the Parlour and Dining Rooms much like 1940’s Parisian Salons. Each has a study which is wood paneled in Tiger oak and bedrooms that boast handmade area carpets and silk upholstered walls.

By the numbers:• Main lobby: 3 levels, 15 meter/49 foot height to ceiling• 180 Art Deco style chandeliers• Waterfall: 2,000 litres/528 gallons per minute (fall)• Ballroom: 3,000 meters/9,843 feet of optic fiber and 15,000 light bulbs • External passageways: 4,500 meters/14,764 feet • 50,000 installed electric sources • 1,200 external lamps • 5,000 windows • 40 varieties of plants and trees cover the hotel grounds• More than 5,000 metric tons of marble and stone from around the world is showcased: o Façade and interior lobby are made of French limestone (Valange) and Finnish marble o Internal stones are Italian (Spa), Omani (guestrooms), Moroccan (executive residences’ kitchens), Spanish

(main entrance corridors) and Indian (green marble in Center Cut)

Page 4: JOHANNE CORNO SYLVAIN TREMBLAY - Opera Gallery · 6 Dubai bolD on fluo green Mixed media Diptych: 152,5 x 305 cm - 60 x 120 in. 7 CORNO’SsTATEMENT I’ve been painting for 30 years

6 7Dubai bolD on fluo green Mixed media Diptych: 152,5 x 305 cm - 60 x 120 in.

CORNO’SsTATEMENTI’ve been painting for 30 years. It’s my passion. It gives me life and energy. The main idea behind my work is an impulse to create a burst of emotion that makes you go further, that makes you want to conquer the world. Vivid colors best express this. I paint large because it gives me room to breathe. I hate constraint. I value freedom and I want to express it through my art. I see larger than life and that’s what I paint.

I describe my work as new expressionism. My style is a fusion of brilliant colors, explosive gesture and figurative details with a contemporary resonance and appeal. My paintings are loaded with raw energy. They reflect intense emotions of love, passion, death.

Music provides a bubble in which I isolate myself from the world in the creative process.

The subject matter that interests me is the human body. I have no shame about it. It’s an object of beauty and an endless source of inspiration. I try to depict the body of men and women liberated from the censorship of puritanical attitudes.

New York City is raw, off limits. Within a few miles, you have access to the whole world. That’s why I choose to live and paint here. I get restless elsewhere. The city’s rhythm pulsates in my canvases.

Life is full of contradictions. I express these emotions with the contrasts and dichotomies I portray in any given painting. I bring it all together but there is never a resolution. It always remains a process, just like modern life. We live in a world of paradoxes and I’m always on the edge.

I have always believed that I have something to say and to bring to the world through my art. Nothing can stop me from saying it and following my vision, my dream. My gestural strokes reflect my unapologetic attitude - my drive for success, my restless dedication. I can’t imagine not painting.

It’s my destiny

Page 5: JOHANNE CORNO SYLVAIN TREMBLAY - Opera Gallery · 6 Dubai bolD on fluo green Mixed media Diptych: 152,5 x 305 cm - 60 x 120 in. 7 CORNO’SsTATEMENT I’ve been painting for 30 years

8 9Dubai bolD on pink Dubai bolD on blue with teal Mixed media Mixed mediaDiptych: 183 x 244 cm - 72 x 96 in. 152,5 x 183 cm - 60 x 72 in.

Page 6: JOHANNE CORNO SYLVAIN TREMBLAY - Opera Gallery · 6 Dubai bolD on fluo green Mixed media Diptych: 152,5 x 305 cm - 60 x 120 in. 7 CORNO’SsTATEMENT I’ve been painting for 30 years

10 11Dubai bolD on yellow Dubai bolD on gray Mixed media Mixed mediaDiptych: 152,5 x 305 cm - 60 x 120 in. 122 x 152,5 cm - 48 x 60 in.

Page 7: JOHANNE CORNO SYLVAIN TREMBLAY - Opera Gallery · 6 Dubai bolD on fluo green Mixed media Diptych: 152,5 x 305 cm - 60 x 120 in. 7 CORNO’SsTATEMENT I’ve been painting for 30 years

12 13Dubai bolD on maroon Mixed media Diptych: 152,5 x 274,5 cm - 60 x 108 in.

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5Dubai bolD on:1 - white Mixed media 122 x 152,5 cm - 48 x 60 in.

2 - fluo orange with golD - 3 - orange - 4 - Dark orange - 5 - clear orange Mixed media 152,5 x 122 cm - 60 x 48 in.

Page 9: JOHANNE CORNO SYLVAIN TREMBLAY - Opera Gallery · 6 Dubai bolD on fluo green Mixed media Diptych: 152,5 x 305 cm - 60 x 120 in. 7 CORNO’SsTATEMENT I’ve been painting for 30 years

16 17Dubai bolD on fluo yellow Mixed media 152,5 x 183 cm - 60 x 72 in. Dubai bolD on sky blue Mixed media 152,5 x 183 cm - 60 x 72 in.

Page 10: JOHANNE CORNO SYLVAIN TREMBLAY - Opera Gallery · 6 Dubai bolD on fluo green Mixed media Diptych: 152,5 x 305 cm - 60 x 120 in. 7 CORNO’SsTATEMENT I’ve been painting for 30 years

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CORNO’S B IOGRAPHYJohanne Corno is a Canadian artist based in New York, who graduated from the University of Quebec in Montreal

and quickly turned to a full time painting career. Her first representation was at the Clarence Gagnon Gallery in

Montreal. By the late 1980s, she had become the darling of Montreal collectors and one of the most sought-after

Quebec artists. Her reputation was quickly growing across Canada with shows in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and

Vancouver. She was the featured artist at the Quebec Pavilion at Expo 86 in Vancouver that propelled her visibility

to new heights. During this period and into the early 90s, she was represented by Yves Laroche Gallery.

With a strong market in Canada, Corno turned to the US and had shows at the Morgan Gallery in Boston and San

Diego State University. But New York City was an irresistible magnet, so she moved there in 1992. To jump-start

her career, she participated in group shows and various art events. Following in the footsteps of O’Keefe and Dalí,

she was the featured artist at Steuben Glass, which placed her paintings in their flagship store on Madison Avenue.

The new millennium brought Corno to Opera Gallery in Soho, which began representing her work worldwide.

Playing a balancing act of high - energy dichotomies that stimulate the imagination and throw the viewer of f

balance, her new style superimposes itself over underlying intricate figurative details. The resulting fusion has a

contemporary resonance and appeal. A superb colorist, she incorporates intense textures into her surfaces and

uses bold brush strokes.

Her international rise to fame took place in several stages. In 2007, Corno was the Guest of Honor for the Fido

Spot where her work was projected on the largest state of the art outdoor digital projector system in Canada.

Before that, her work was featured at Luminato, Toronto’s Festival of Arts and Creativity, in addition to being shown

at the Thompson Landry Gallery.

In 2009, Corno had an important exhibition at Opera Gallery Singapore titled Corno & Ali Esmaeilipour followed

by her first major exhibition at Opera Gallery Dubai, a joint exhibition with Wang Yehan. Another major event,

she was the Guest Artist of the Montreal International Jazz Festival for the celebration of their 30th anniversary that

coincided with the 30 - year mark of her own artistic career. The commissioned painting is on permanent display

at the TD Gallery Lounge. An Opening at AKA Gallery scheduled to coincide with this event made the evening

news on CBC television. The Thompson Landry Gallery in Toronto featured Corno’s work in a special anniversary

celebration of their own gallery. An exhibition at Opera Gallery London took place in the fall and showcased

several large murals.

The year 2010 had several landmarks for Corno. First an important exhibition titled In the Mood for Art took place

at Opera Gallery Hong Kong. Corno also immortalized rock star bad boy, Eric Lapointe by painting his portrait for

the cover of his hit CD album. But the biggest surprise of all was the launch of Cornographie, Corno’s autobiogra-

phical account of her beginnings in New York City published by La Presse Editions. Her anecdotes are whimsical

and her style as colorful as her art. The year ended with a one-woman show at Opera Gallery New York simply

titled Corno that was by all accounts a smash hit.

Corno’s works can be found in museums, and corporate and private collections all over the world. In 2009, More

Magazine named her one of the Top 40 over 40 Women in Canada. Later in the year, Chatelaine Magazine

included her in their list of the Top 100 Women in Quebec. After much hard work, she never takes her success

for granted and encourages young artists to follow their dreams because sometimes dreams really do come true.

2012 Opera Gallery, Corno & Tremblay (group show), Dubai, UAE

2011 David Lawrence Gallery, West Hollywood, Quebec in

Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA

Roosevelt Hotel, West Hollywood, Quebec in

Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA

TD Gallery Lounge, Maison du Festival Rio Tinto Alcan, Art and

Desire, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

2010 Opera Gallery, Corno, New York, USA

Centre National d’Exposition, Le paradoxe du rapprochement,

Jonquière, Saguenay, Quebec, Canada

Opera Gallery, In the Mood for Art (group show), Hong Kong

2009 Opera Gallery, Corno & Eduardo Guelfenbein (group show),

London, UK

AKA Gallery, Corno, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Opera Gallery, Corno & Ali Esmaeilipour (group show), Singapore

Opera Gallery, Corno & Wang Yehan (group show), Dubai, UAE

AKA Gallery, Recent Paintings, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

2008 Opera Gallery, Roc-Roussey & Corno (group show), New York, USA

Thompson Landry Gallery (group show), Calgary, Canada

Opera Gallery, Corno & Moz (group show), Paris, France

Opera Gallery, Made in NY (group show), New York, USA

Thompson Landry Gallery (group show), Toronto, Canada

Opera Gallery, Open Your Heart (group show), Hong Kong

2007 Opera Gallery, New Works, Venice, Italy

Opera Gallery, New Works, Seoul, Korea

Left Coast Galleries, Corno - Recent Works, Los Angeles, USA

Fido Spot Inauguration, Guest of Honor, Multi-media projection,

Toronto, Canada

Thompson Landry Gallery (group show), Toronto, Canada

AKA Gallery, Corno - New Works, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Opera Gallery, New Works, London, UK

Opera Gallery, Corno, Hong Kong

2006 Left Coast Galleries, Recent Works, Los Angeles, USA

Left Coast Galleries, Recent Works, Studio City, Los Angeles, USA

Opera Gallery, Corno & Kaplan (group show), Hong Kong

Opera Gallery, New Works, London, UK

Royal Albert Hall, featured artist, Cirque du Soleil, Alegria

Premiere, London, UK

Roof Gardens, featured artist, Cirque du Soleil, Alegria

Premiere, London, UK

Thompson Landry Gallery, Recent Works, Toronto, Canada

Ars Vivesco (group show), Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

Éco - Musée du Fier Monde, Exposition Enchantée, Montreal,

Quebec, Canada

2005 Opera Gallery, Corno, New York, USA

Columbus Circle, Techno - Graffiti Event, New York, USA

Splash Light Studio & Sweet Spot, Featured artist, Casablanca

Event for Jay - J & Latrice Barnet, with Vasili & Matthieu Lagarde,

François Ayrault & AntiGravity, New York, USA

The Train, Prêt - à - Porter Paris -New York, Featured artist,

New York, USA

Opera Gallery, Kaleidoscope, Paris, France

Opera Gallery, Recent Works, Hong Kong

Méliès at l’Ex-Centris, New Works, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Ars Vivesco (group show), Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

Éco - Musée du Fier Monde, Exposition Enchantée, Montreal,

Quebec, Canada

2004 Opera Gallery, Corno, Paris, France

Opera Gallery, Recent Paintings, New York, USA

Black and Blue Festival, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

2003 Opera Gallery, Larger than Life, New York, USA

Opera Gallery, Explosions of Color, Miami, USA

2001 Galerie d’Art Yves Laroche, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Michel Blais Gallery (group show), Vancouver, Canada

2000 Selima Gallery (group show), New York, USA

Steuben Glass, A Touch of the Exotic, featured artist, New York, USA

Paul LaBrecque Salon, New York, USA

Atmosphere Gallery, Portraits of New York, New York, USA

Atmosphere Gallery, Next, New York, USA

Atmosphere Gallery, Vision, New York, USA

Atmosphere Gallery, November, New York, USA

Atmosphere Gallery Opening, New York, USA

Art Mode Gallery, Corno Exposed, Calgary, Canada

RECENTsOLO&GROUPExHIB I T IONS

Page 11: JOHANNE CORNO SYLVAIN TREMBLAY - Opera Gallery · 6 Dubai bolD on fluo green Mixed media Diptych: 152,5 x 305 cm - 60 x 120 in. 7 CORNO’SsTATEMENT I’ve been painting for 30 years

20 21temps nouveau D’un être Mixed media 61 x 61 cm - 24 x 24 in.

I want to always paint by instinct

It’s like when you’re young and want to be a writer. First you have to live and travel

and learn so that you have a story to tell. The same is true with painting.

The images I paint are a celebration of the hopeful and cheerful aspects of human

life. I use acrylics and a top coat of varnish. I create human forms in a matte finish,

set against an abstract, hyper glossy background of color planes. My works are

almost sculptural; the roughly - sketched figures seem to emerge through the backdrop,

presenting themselves on canvas.

I’m an urban artist. I examine how the materials of a city grow and decay, like in

nature.

Just as the landscape painter understands trees and the color of the sky, I understand

the textures of a city.

My work is an illusion of freedom; my style seems to flow freely, but in reality, the

concept has already been conceived in the most precise detail.

My upcoming projects will be inspired by new environments, by a new urban life in

bigger cities. My inspiration now comes from China, where I have been living part-

time for the last year.

Beijing, the city of change! Everything goes so fast. I have to be ready to accept and

feel the real moment; the one that makes me insecure. When this happens, I want to

break the limits and express my discomfort using colors and textures.

My work becomes more sculptural. My art is more like the spontaneous manipulation

of the soul; it rises, it’s stronger. I use each experience like a message I must deliver. I

explore every new city and every new painting as if it was the very first time, without

limits or judgment calls, like an artist who must expel the history of humans.

My art is intuitive yet meticulously process-driven.

T REMBLAY’SsTATEMENT

Page 12: JOHANNE CORNO SYLVAIN TREMBLAY - Opera Gallery · 6 Dubai bolD on fluo green Mixed media Diptych: 152,5 x 305 cm - 60 x 120 in. 7 CORNO’SsTATEMENT I’ve been painting for 30 years

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Dame aux espaces moDernes Mixed media 152,5 x 122 cm - 60 x 48 in.

phase Double expression Mixed media 91,5 x 91,5 cm - 36 x 36 in.

Page 13: JOHANNE CORNO SYLVAIN TREMBLAY - Opera Gallery · 6 Dubai bolD on fluo green Mixed media Diptych: 152,5 x 305 cm - 60 x 120 in. 7 CORNO’SsTATEMENT I’ve been painting for 30 years

24 25plaine Du temps Mixed media 61 x 122 cm - 24 x 48 in.

Page 14: JOHANNE CORNO SYLVAIN TREMBLAY - Opera Gallery · 6 Dubai bolD on fluo green Mixed media Diptych: 152,5 x 305 cm - 60 x 120 in. 7 CORNO’SsTATEMENT I’ve been painting for 30 years

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hautes perspectives 1 Mixed media 305 x 45,5 cm - 120 x 18 in.

êtres De lumière intemporels Mixed media Triptych: 152,5 x 213,5 cm - 60 x 84 in.

Page 15: JOHANNE CORNO SYLVAIN TREMBLAY - Opera Gallery · 6 Dubai bolD on fluo green Mixed media Diptych: 152,5 x 305 cm - 60 x 120 in. 7 CORNO’SsTATEMENT I’ve been painting for 30 years

28 29Dame au rocher Mixed media 61 x 61 cm - 24 x 24 in. le granD parc De la falaise rouge Mixed media Triptych: 183 x 213,5 cm - 72 x 84 in.

Page 16: JOHANNE CORNO SYLVAIN TREMBLAY - Opera Gallery · 6 Dubai bolD on fluo green Mixed media Diptych: 152,5 x 305 cm - 60 x 120 in. 7 CORNO’SsTATEMENT I’ve been painting for 30 years

30 31affection intemporelle Mixed media 152,5 x 152,5 cm - 60 x 60 in. haute attituDe sans temps Mixed media 213,5 x 152,5 cm - 84 x 60 in.

Page 17: JOHANNE CORNO SYLVAIN TREMBLAY - Opera Gallery · 6 Dubai bolD on fluo green Mixed media Diptych: 152,5 x 305 cm - 60 x 120 in. 7 CORNO’SsTATEMENT I’ve been painting for 30 years

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TREMBLAY’S B IOGRAPHYSylvain Tremblay was born in 1966 in Quebec City, Canada, and lives and works in

Montreal. He has had exhibitions throughout Canada and the United States.

In collections all over the world, canvas upon canvas attest to the enormous richness of

the artist’s imagination and seemingly endless creative energy.

Sylvain Tremblay is a well-established artist who combines resin and lacquer on canvas.

Between abstraction and figurative, the silhouettes of his paintings appear thanks to outer

lines underlining them.

The paintings, boldly glowing with Sylvain Tremblay’s signature veneer, have streamlined

compositions playing against the abstract checkerboard of colour planes. They serve as

backdrops for the textural figures in his work. The paintings are striking, the emerging

human form roughly - sketched, elongated figures. As one approaches the painting, the

many layers of varnish, undulating, almost moving, begin to release their hidden images

creating an abstract landscape for the human forms within the piece.

Sylvain Tremblay’s works have always been anchored in the inescapable passage of time,

use and texture. His themes converge on the human condition in an industrialized, urban

context. Although the artist works on canvas, he sees his paintings as something closer

to sculpture. Tremblay shapes his human figures with the idea in mind of a sculpture,

weathered by time and the natural elements. “Just as the experiences in life weather us

physically and emotionally, I want to express this in art, that’s why I like to work with

texture; the crackling and the overall look of used, weathered and lived in.”

Tremblay’s gaunt, elongated silhouettes have been compared to the work of master

sculptor Alberto Giacometti. Working texture upon texture, color and more color, the

artist’s sculptural, undulating figures incorporate gesso, metal, sand or textiles. These

“urban” forms intertwine history with modernity with the absence of time and location,

which enhances the mystifying sense of immortality and the human condition as themes

in his work.

If imitation is indeed the highest form of flattery, then Sylvain Tremblay should consider

himself flattered. It seems his unique style has inspired others to follow step, but instead of

provoking anxiety, this unexpected form of artistic tip of the hat only spurred the painter

into a new level of meaning and passion in his work.

2012 Opera Gallery, Corno & Tremblay (group show), Dubai, UAE

2011 Caochangdi Art Gallery, Beijing, China

Thompson Landry Gallery, Toronto, Canada

2010 World Universal Exhibition, Canada Pavilion, Shanghai,

China

Galerie Lydia Monaro (group show), Montreal, Quebec,

Canada

Opera Gallery, Silhouette of Dreams (group show), Singapore

Opera Gallery, New York, USA

Opera Gallery, Esmaeilipour & Tremblay (group show),

Hong Kong

2009 Opera Gallery, Timeless (group show), Seoul, Korea

Thompson Landry Gallery, Toronto, Canada

2008 Thompson Landry Gallery, Toronto, Canada

Opera Gallery, Hong Kong

Opera Gallery, official book launch Sylvain Tremblay,

New York, USA

2007 Opera Gallery, Cisinsky & Tremblay (group show),

London, UK

Galerie d’art Iris, Baie - Saint-Paul, Quebec, Canada

Art Gallery, Nassau, Commonwealth of the Bahamas

2006 Opera Gallery (group show), New York, USA

Opera Gallery (group show), Singapore

Contrast Gallery, Brussels, Belgium

Opera Gallery (group show), Miami, USA

2005 2nd Beijing International Art Biennale, Artist selected to

represent Canada, Beijing, China

Quebec Week, Artist selected to represent the province of

Quebec by the Quebec General Delegation in Brussels,

Silly, Belgium

Opera Gallery (group show), Hong Kong

Opera Gallery, Goddesses (group show), New York, USA

Opera Gallery (group show), Miami, USA

2004 6th Art International Zurich Artfair, Artist selected to

represent the continent of America, NKE Gallery, Zurich,

Switzerland

Uncensored, Artist invited by the New Yorker Magazine,

New York, USA

Contrast Gallery, Brussels, Belgium

Opera Gallery, Timeless textures (group show), Singapore

Opera Gallery, Timeless women (group show), Singapore

2003 Galerie Lydia Monaro, Murmures urbains, Montreal,

Quebec, Canada

Eighteen Restaurant, Ottawa, Canada

Galerie d’art Iris, Temps au jardin, Baie - Saint-Paul,

Quebec, Canada

Opera Gallery, Regards sur le temps (group show),

New York, USA

2002 Galerie Lydia Monaro, Les intemporels, Montreal,

Quebec, Canada

Galerie Bénédicte Gauthier Summer, Réflexion du temps,

Paris, France

Galerie d’art Iris, Harmonique du temps, Montreal,

Quebec, Canada

2001 Galerie Lydia Monaro, Gens du nouveau millénaire,

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Grand Prix du Canada, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Grand Prix, Indianapolis, USA

2000 Galerie Tremblay-Monet, Fragments humains, Montreal,

Quebec, Canada

Grand Prix du Canada, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Grand Prix, Indianapolis, USA

RECENTsOLO&GROUPExHIB I T IONS

Borden Ladner Gervais, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Hôtel Le Saint-James, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Hôtel Le Saint-Sulpice, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Newman-Haas Racing LLC, Lincolnshire, USA

Stikeman Elliot, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Tower Watson & Co, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

CORPORATECOMMISS IONS

Page 18: JOHANNE CORNO SYLVAIN TREMBLAY - Opera Gallery · 6 Dubai bolD on fluo green Mixed media Diptych: 152,5 x 305 cm - 60 x 120 in. 7 CORNO’SsTATEMENT I’ve been painting for 30 years

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