Anouk Sugàr
I studied at Chelsea School of Art & Design and Goldsmith's College, University of London (UK), where I received a BFA. I further became the recipient of a Masters in Sociology (MSc)from the Université du Québec à Montréal, in the course of which I took a particular interest in the sociology of culture and contemporary art. I live and work in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
My early work evolved around painting, video installation, performance and artist books. In recent years, my interests have led me to explore ideas involving spatial design and I then developed proposals that address the humanisation of city- and streetscapes. I was awarded the Laurentian Bank prize in Montreal for a project focused on making a visual difference, away from the commonly expected street experience. I also write critical essays and articles on art and philosophy.
My current work concentrates mainly on painting, collage and writing.
My attraction to painting lies in the fact that it takes shape through re-visiting uncertainties, in a perpetual and unattainable attempt to reach perfection. Painting does not offer the possibility of an ending achieved by the image, a sense of conclusion. Rather, it proposes an extended sense of temporality made possible by repetition. The prospective image is never fixed, since it cannot attain any existing truth or completion. Duration remains fluid and blurred, stories explored through multiple interpretations. Several experiences of time are present simultaneously: the recall of past events or memories and projections of an imaginary future, fantasies of time re-told, or negotiations yet to come.
Collage on the other hand is a play with found materials and shapes. Looking for collage material to use is like going onto a treasure hunt and so is often the process of putting the image together. Light in its process, it can come together in seconds or require some playing around before finding the perfect balance of the montage.
As a writer, I find myself at the crossroads of disciplines such as critical theory in art, philosophy, psychoanalysis, sociology and literature. I have recently published a book: "Perdre la maison. Essai sur l'art et le deuil de l'espace habité", which along its proposed subject of the mourning of lost houses features 33 works of art.
I am currently the proud recipient of a research & creation grant given to me by the Canada Arts Council that supports the writing of a new manuscript.
Literary work
2020
Perdre la maison. Essai sur l’art et le deuil de l’espace habité
Éditions Varia, Groupe Nota Bene, Montreal, Quebec, 180 p.
SHOWS
2019
SLICE, collage group show, Pop-up space, Montreal, Quebec
2018
Vinylism, collage group show, Tent Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
2017
Nonesuch Art of Papers Awards Exhibition, juried group show, works of paper,
The Paper Factory, Montreal, Quebec
Nonesuch Art of Papers Awards Exhibition, juried group show, works of paper,
Nonesuch Art Centre, Parrsboro, Nova Scotia
G.L.U.E., collage group show, Tent Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
2016
Paintings, VOXEL gallery, online solo juried show, Great Britain
Collaborative collages
2021
Mark Watkins & Anouk Sugàr (Burton upon Trent, United Kingdom – Montreal, Quebec)
Danielle Desormaux & Anouk Sugàr (Montreal, Québec)
2020 Enrique J. Enriquez & Anouk Sugàr (Montreal, Quebec)
2019
BLEND, collaborative collage collection created by 26 international collage artists.
Artistic direction : Allan Bealy, Benzene editions (New York, NY)
Allan Bealy & Anouk Sugàr (New York, NY – Montreal, Quebec)
Teresa Lobos (Glasgow, Scotland – Montreal, Quebec)
2017
Adam Harrisson (Chatham, Kent, United Kingdom– Montreal, Quebec)
Commissioned collages
2020 -2021
False Creek (Vancouver) - Past, present, future, series of four collages, Department of Sociology, UQÀM, Montreal, Quebec
2017
Gun, collage trading cards, pack no 8, november 2017, Kolaj magazine, Montreal, Quebec
Anthropocene, two collages commissioned by the Chaire de recherche du Canada en Évaluation et
Amélioration du Système de Santé, Sherbrooke University, Montreal, Quebec
J'y vais! & Hésite pas!, two collages commissioned by the Chaire de recherche du Canada en Évaluation
et Amélioration du Système de Santé, Sherbrooke University, Montreal, Quebec
2012
Collage commissioned by Urbanbees, on the occasion of their " Fleur de Sel " installation (2001), Jardin de Métis,
Grand-Métis, Québec, featured in the On Site magazine, art architecture, urbanism, landscape, May 2012, No 26,
Calgary, Alberta, p. 10
1999
David Sterne and Un Joualonais sa Joualonie, book covers for novels by Marie-Claire Blais, Éditions du Boréal, Montreal, Quebec
1996-99
Collages commissioned by Main Film, Association of Independent Filmmakers, for their Synopsis magazine,
Montreal, Quebec
SPACE DESIGN
The following installations have been imagined and designed with the idea to create meeting spaces that are
hospitable and meaningful to our daily trajectories. They are aimed at encouraging us to dwell and to actively
care for and maintain them, thus we become actors of social engagement,
2012
F comme Friche, Canadian Center for Architecture (CCA), Montreal, Quebec
Exhibition proposal for ABC/Montreal
Reflexions on the wasteland as a transitory urban state
2010
Oasis – Lambert-Closse elementary school, Montreal, Quebec
Proposal for the development of an interior resting space
Integration of sustainable construction materials and production autonomous energy,
in collaboration with the children
2006
McAllister 07 – Montreal, Quebec
Rehabilitation project of the Daniel McAllister tug boat anchored in Montreal's old harbour
Awareness raising in regards to the role of the conservation of industrial patrimony
Bleu – Paysages Éphémères, Montreal, Quebec
Proposition for the design of an ephemeral street installation on the Mont-Royal avenue
Questioning the notion of landscape
Competition finalist
Conecart – Shelter in a cart, Designboom, London, Great Britain
Proposal for a temporary shelter for the homeless or on the ethical incompatibility of such a project
2005
Signature extérieure distinctive – Banque Laurentienne, Montreal, Quebec
Design of street elements and furniture aiming to differentiate the Laurentien Bank from the general
urban fabric
Competition winner
Connect the dot – Diesel Wall, Berlin, F.R.G.
Designing of an exterior mural
CEDAR – Benetton Research Centre, Treviso, Italy
Landscape installation in response to the cedar, emblem of the center
Parasites – Paysages Ephémères, Montreal, Quebec
Urban landscape installation on the Intervention Mont-Royal avenue
Barrel of Love – Bridges of Communication, Shrinking Cities,
Rethinking the City/ Rethinking Urbanism, Detroit, Michigan
Socio-urbanistic intervention designed with the purpose to restore the communication flow
between distinct areas of the city
PRESS AND PUBLICATIONS
2020
Mavrikakis, Catherine, 11 décembre 2020, #lire en chœur, Les prescriptions littéraires de Catherine Mavrikakis,
Association des libraires du Québec (ALQ)
Bouchard, Serge et Jean-Philippe Pleau, 6 décembre 2020, La maison, « C’est fou... », Ici Première, Radio-Canada
Strike a Light, catalogue of collages using the matchbox as central element, Artistic direction: Rhed Fawell, edited by the Edinburgh Collage Collective.
Marcoux, Valérie, 25 juin 2020, "Faire le deuil de sa maison", in Le Mag, Le Soleil, Quebec, Canada.
"Perdre la maison. Essai sur l'art et le deuil de l'espace habité", in Newsletter, Cultural Events, Literature, June 2020, General Consulate of Switzerland in Montreal, Canada.
"Perdre la maison. Essai sur l'art et le deuil de l'espace habité". Les Libraires, Le bimestriel des librairies indépendantes, avril-mai 2020, No 118, Section Essai.
Lanctôt, Jacques, mars 2020, "Perdre la maison sans perdre la raison", in Le Journal de Montréal.
2019
SLICE, "Collage event", Kolaj Magazine, avril 2019
BLEND, collaborative collage collection created by 26 international collage artists and published in zine format.
Artistic direction : Allan Bealy, Benzene editions (New York, NY)
2018
"Cut-Ups, Q&A featured by the Edinburgh Collage Collective on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/edinburghcollagecollective/
"Cinematographic language", Collage artist trading card spotlight. Interview featured online in early August,
http://kolajmagazine.com/content/content/collage-artists/cinematographic-language/
"Vinylism", Collage on view, Kolaj Magazine, May 2018.
http://kolajmagazine.com/content/content/collage-exhibitions/vinylism/
"New spin on vinyl", The National, Scotland, mai 2018, p. 25
2017
Nonesuch Art of Paper Awards exhibition, Kolaj Magazine online, December 2017,
http://kolajmagazine.com/content/content/collage-exhibitions/2017-nonesuch-art-of-paper-awards-exhibition/
"Global Links United", Collage on view, Kolaj Magazine online, May - June 2017,
http://kolajmagazine.com/content/content/collage-exhibitions/global-links-united-in-edinburgh/
Cinematographic language, "Spotlight on Collage Trading Card Artist Anouk Sugàr",
Kolaj Magazine, https://kolajmagazine.com/content/content/collage-artists/cinematographic-language/
2016
Laroche, Annie, summer 2016, Créer des liens avec la société, in "Nos chercheurs dans la sphère publique", CISSS newsletter, Montérégie, Editor: Direction des ressources humaines, des communications et des affaires juridiques, directed by Sylvie Grégoire, p.5, http://santemc.quebec/santemc/icentre/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/MCvol1no1.pdf
Byrne, Christopher, July 2016, "Collages Fights Cancer", in Kolaj Magazine,Montreal: Kasini House, #16, p.7
Lobo, Patricia, February 2016, "Collage for cancer," in Cancer and Society, The Lancet Oncology, Vol. 17, No 2, p.149, http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(16)00019-X/fulltext