Ed Pien, In the Safety of Trees (detail), 2007 Photo : Belal Ashraf. Courtesy of Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain

Ed Pien. Haven of Delight (Version française)

February 10 – April 27, 2008
Opening reception: February 10, 2 pm
Join the artist, Ed Pien, for a tour of the exhibition: February 10, at 1:20 pm

The works in the exhibition Ed Pien. Haven of Delight come from the recent production by the artist, who creates works using paper decoupage techniques. Closely akin to drawing, this new series explores the phantasmagorical, imaginary world of different culture’s tales and myths. Pien creates the embroidered look of his landscapes peopled with strange characters by making cuts in large strips of hand-tinted paper, recalling the ancient Chinese art of paper cuts. The birds, bats and half-human–half-animal figures that adorn its foliage appear as silhouettes perched in the tree branches, which form the shape of a haven in a magical forest.

In addition to the large cut-paper frescoes displayed on the wall of the Museum, the exhibition features the first Canadian showing of Haven, which was created for the Bellevue Art Museum in Washington State. This imposing installation includes five interlocking paper structures that form a labyrinthine space bounded by jagged hedges, into which visitors are invited to venture. Inside the structures, sound and video elements intermingle with paper vines from which various peculiar figures emerge. This exhibition, curated by Eve-Lyne Beaudry, Assistant Curator at the Musée d’art de Joliette is the artist’s first solo show in a Quebec museum.

Ed Pien was born in Taiwan in 1958 and has lived in Canada since 1969. He has a bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of Western Ontario, and a master’s of fine arts from York University. He has exhibited in Canada, China, France, Germany, Mexico and the United States. His works are found in many public and private collections, including the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. In addition to working as an artist, Pien teaches at the University of Toronto and the Ontario College of Art and Design. Ed Pien is represented by Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain.

The Musée d’art de Joliette would like to thank Dumoulin Électronique Informatique for its generous support of the exhibition Haven of Delight.