MKG127 is pleased to present Enfant Terrible, an exhibition of new work by Brian Rideout
On view is a selection of recent paintings drawn from a range of historical and contemporary images. Together the works tell a story about the objecthood and history of cultural products as they are altered, damaged, destroyed, and re-created. Over time and throughout history, objects change–whether from intentional damage (Pieta (After Toth)), misunderstanding (A Colour Reconstruction of a Marble Statue), or socio-political action (King Louis XVI (Off with Their Hands)). As the history of objects change over time, we choose how to see these interventions, as those of the ‘unruly child’ or as the ‘genius,’ as an impetus for change.
Read Anastasia Howe Bukowski’s full exhibition essay here.
In lieu of an opening, Rideout will be available to meet visitors by appointment on Saturdays during the run of the exhibition. The gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday, noon to 6pm.
Due to the pandemic, we ask that visitors wear masks and adhere to social distancing while in the gallery. We will be limiting the number of people in the gallery at the same time. The gallery’s restroom is not open to the public. If you are feeling unwell, or are exhibiting any symptoms of Covid-19, please refrain from visiting the gallery. Thank you for your cooperation.
Brian Rideout (b. 1986) is a Toronto based painter. Rideout’s paintings not only represent the history of taste through objects, they too consider the decisive role of the archive in the organization of this history. These are paintings of records as much as they are of spaces. They become historical documents poised to play a role in understanding our visual world. Rideout’s painterly intervention into his source imagery recontextualizes the depicted art objects as part of the Art Canon, cataloguing collections and ultimately lending them new meaning. He curates each image, choosing the ones best-suited for painting (look, fit, function). He considers the formal and metaphorical properties of each; appreciating them as an art form in their own right: art in print. This practice of selecting an image, examining it closely, considering its unique history of production, and creating a painting from that image, displays a conscious effort towards historicization.
See: Behind the scenes with Toronto painter, Brian Rideout as he prepares for his exhibition, Enfant Terrible at MKG127 in April 2021. Filmed in real time, we see Rideout begin and complete a painting of the damaged head of Mary from Michaelangelo’s Pieta which was vandalized at the Vatican in 1972.