In Montreal and across the province of Quebec, the jewellery community is becoming increasingly familiar with Le Labo, the creative workshops led by Montreal gallerist Noel Guyomarc’h. He has now been offering these workshops for about a decade and has thus guided numerous cohorts of jewellers from all backgrounds, whom he has attempted to introduce to new possibilities in the field of jewellery. Whether it be in terms of formal, material or conceptual research, Le Labo allows its participants to explore a single idea from all possible angles and to capture its essence in order to translate it into the form of an object, most of the time wearable, and always in relationship with the body.
This year, two intensive workshops were presented by the École de joaillerie de Montréal, in collaboration with Emploi Québec, Compétence culture and the Conseil des métiers d’art du Québec. During the first semester, participants were initially invited to broaden their horizons by responding to various exercises and challenges: themes, constraints, materials to use or to avoid, etc. After several weeks of brief explorations, each participant had to develop one of the proposals they had previously explored in order to bring it to the stage of a finished piece of jewellery.
During the Labo II, where the group was made up of participants from the first Labo presented in the fall as well as other participants from previous editions, the aim was to dedicate the entire semester to the development of a body of work based on a single theme, a single approach, or a single technique. It is therefore during this semester that individual artistic directions are revealed and that research results in often surprising, but always very interesting, outcomes.
To highlight the superb work developed by the eight participants in this edition of the Labo II, the ÉJM gallery space is presenting their recent creations, from April 6 – 30.
Images:
Cover image – Labo II participants with Noel Guyomarc’h
From top to bottom, left to right:
- Anaëlle Lepont. Ring, Le monde à ton doigt. Copper.
- Judith Chagnon. Brooch, Untitled. Sterling silver, feathers.
- Nina Janvier. Neckpiece, Boîte à secret no. 03. Brass, nylon thread, felt, mirror, pearl.
- Ana Catalina Montoya. Neckpiece, Mundala. Sunflower seeds, mango pit, corn leaves, cotton thread, wood.
- Virginie Turcot Lamarre. Neckpiece, Du point A au point B. Birch wood, waxed cotton cord.
- Ted Deltour. Earrings, Untitled. Sterling silver, 18k gold, pearls.
- Laura Sasseville. Untitled object, À la recherche constante de l’équilibre series. Modelling clay, amazonite, nylon thread.
- Gayane Avetisyan. Brooch, La mémoire du toucher. Satin fabric, sterling silver, copper.
Jewellery photos: Anthony McLean
For more works by participating artists:
Anaëlle Lepont: www.anaellelepont.com
Ted Deltour: www.tresorsdestbarth.com
Virginie Turcot-Lamarre: www.louvemontreal.com/uniques
Judith Chagnon: www.jcjoailliere.com
Nina Janvier: www.ninajanvier.com
Ana Catalina Montoya: www.instagram.com/anacatalinamontoya_artjewelry
Laura Sasseville: www.laurasasseville.com
Gayane Avetisyan: fr.gayaneavetisyan.ca
