Michael Dumontier’s fifth solo show at MKG127 Through the drywall, into the earth is a collection of improvised sculptures crafted from metal, wood, stone, fabric, and dirt. Symmetry, repetition, geometry, and the sentimental, as applied to the contents of the hardware store. Hundreds of small handmade flowers and leaves line the gallery walls–populations in various states of decay, or in vivid changing colours–Competing with time, yet still compelled to bend towards the light.

Michael Dumontier co-founded The Royal Art Lodge collective in 1996 and continued as a member until 2008, along with Marcel Dzama and Neil Farber. Solo presentations for the Royal Art Lodge have been held at the Liverpool Biennial; the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; The Drawing Center, New York; and The Power Plant, Toronto. Dumontier maintains a collaborative practice with Neil Farber, meeting every Wednesday evening to collaborate on paintings, drawings, and writing. In 2014, they were shortlisted for the Sobey Art Award. The two just published LIBRARY, their third book with Drawn and Quarterly, Montreal. Work by Michael Dumontier can be found in numerous private and public collections including the Vancouver Art Gallery and the National Gallery of Canada, and solo exhibitions for the artist have been held in New York, Padua (Italy), Boston, Winnipeg, and Montréal. Michael just completed his first large scale public art project Four Flowers, located at the historic Cornish Library in Winnipeg.