Valerie LaMontagne bio

Valérie Lamontagne is a Montréal artist, freelance art critic and curator. Ms. Lamontagne regularly writes about new media and performance in publications such as: MobileGaze, Parachute, Archée, Rhizome and the Magazine Électronique du CIAC. She has curated projects including: À laisser et à prendre, a solo exhibition of Irit Batsry's work at Oboro Gallery (Montréal, 1997); Hybrid Cultures works from Mexico City and Montreal also at Oboro Gallery (Montréal, 1997); Compact Abundance: Kelly Mark and Shelley Low at Articule Gallery (Montréal, 1996); and The Space Between II at the Saidye Bronfman Centre (Montréal, 1995). She organized the Maid in Cyberspace Web Festival at Studio XX (http://www.studioxx.org) (Montréal, 2000). Her most recent curatorial project, Location / Dislocation (http://www.deplacement.qc.ca) - a net.art exhibition curated in collaboration with Sylvie Parent was presented at the New Museum of Contemporary Art (New York, 2001). Ms. Lamontagne is a co-founder with Brad Todd of MobileGaze (www.mobilegaze.com) a net.art site featuring art and interviews with artists and digital media producers where the curatorial project Matter & Memory (http://www.mobilegaze.com/m+m) is being presented. Upcoming projects include curating a Web art exhibition entitled Ellipse at the Musée du Québec. Using various media such as the Web, drawing, painting, installation, photography and performance, Ms. Lamontagne's work explores popular, sentimental and kitsch imagery within contemporary art practices. Her Advice Bunny performance has been featured across Canada at: Plein Sud (Longueuil, 2000); Hamilton Artists Inc. (Hamilton, 2000); Pitt Gallery (Vancouver, 1999); and the Concordia University Bourget Gallery (Montréal, 1999). Her most recent exhibition/performance: The Snow Flake Queen was presented at Truck Gallery (Calgary, 2001). Group shows include: Vital Signs, at the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery (Montréal, 2000), Compulsion at the Saidye Bronfman Center (Montréal, 1999), 48 Rooms/48 Hours in an abandoned building (Montréal, 1999), A Day in the Park organized by May Day Productions (New York, 1998). Recent performances include: The Snow Flake Queen with the Ramble Artist Collective at the Torre de los Vientos (Mexico City, 2001); a performance entitled Mermaid of the Future presented in the context of Visualeyez, organized by Latitude53 (Edmonton, 2001); and Treatment Centre (done in collaboration with Kelly Lynne Wood) at the Concordia University VAV Gallery (Montréal, 2001). Recent performances include the Advice Bunny Webcast to be performed in the Biennale Internazionale Arte Giovanne (Torino, 2002). Ms. Lamontagne has received numerous awards and grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade as an artist as well as curator. MobileGaze: on-line culture. http://www.mobilegaze.com Matter + Memory net.art exhibition http://www.mobilegaze.com/m+m Location / Dislocation http://www.deplacement.qc.ca