{"id":328019,"date":"2026-03-04T07:25:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T07:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/328019\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T07:25:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T07:25:09","slug":"montreals-vast-design-gallery-puts-quebec-based-creatives-in-the-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/328019\/","title":{"rendered":"Montreal\u2019s vast design gallery puts Quebec-based creatives in the spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

The Decorative Arts and Design Pavilion at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art hosts a collection of Quebec-designed and made pieces.Supplied<\/p>\n

Since opening in the fall, the Decorative Arts and Design Pavilion at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has impressed visitors with its expansive array of 800 objects. In addition to presenting internationally recognized examples of pivotal design pieces, eras and movements, chief curator Mary-Dailey Desmarais and design historian Rachel Gotlieb endeavoured to spotlight Quebec-based creatives, studios and manufacturers. \u201cIn this object-based timeline, we really wanted to put forward the strength of Quebec and Canadian contributions to the history of design,\u201d Desmarais says. <\/p>\n

Amik Chair by Caroline MonnetOpen this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Chaise Amik by Caroline MonnetSupplied<\/p>\n

Featured in her 2024 exhibition at Toronto\u2019s Power Plant gallery and made in collaboration with Montreal furniture and decor company Humble Nature, Caroline Monnet\u2019s shapely, limited-edition Amik chair is crafted with a local ash-wood veneer. Named after the Ojibwe word for \u201cbeaver,\u201d the piece pays homage to Monnet\u2019s Anishinaabe ancestry and traditional storytelling. \u201cIt\u2019s an unexpected honour to join the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts\u2019 decorative arts and design collection,\u201d Monnet wrote in an e-mail. \u201cI\u2019ve long admired designers of all horizons, particularly Charles and Ray Eames. I\u2019m grateful that the Amik chair now sits within this bold and important collection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dress by Denis GagnonOpen this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Dress by Denis GagnonSupplied<\/p>\n

Crafted out of brass zippers and showcased in his fall\/winter 2010 fashion collection called Zips, Denis Gagnon\u2019s Dress is one of several wearable works in the MMFA\u2019s collection \u2013 and perhaps one of its most surreal. Here, Gagnon \u2013 whose eponymous label celebrated 25 years last year \u2013 reworks the silhouette of a sultry bustier using utilitarian means; a subversive and surprising expression of glamour from one of Quebec\u2019s most fashion-forward figures.<\/p>\n

Flamboyante by Mariette Rousseau-VermetteOpen this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Vermette textile by Mariette RousseauSupplied<\/p>\n

Visionary textile artist Mariette Rousseau-Vermette\u2019s contribution to the collection is a grand, sunset-hued tapestry called Flamboyante (1977). The bold work is accented with confident graphic lines that contrast a fluid gradient of colours, exemplifying Rousseau-Vermette\u2019s deft and innovative approach to the traditional practice of weaving. She first honed her skills making textile renditions of preparatory drawings by the 1950s cohort of avant-garde painters from Quebec; once weaving her own powerful pieces, she shared a studio with her ceramic artist husband, Claude Vermette.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Chalice by Maurice BraultSupplied<\/p>\n

Chalice by Maurice Brault<\/p>\n

While the average Canadian wasn\u2019t using chalices \u2013 a sacred, stemmed drinking vessel \u2013 in their everyday lives in the 1950s, goldsmith and jewellery designer Maurice Brault\u2019s version certainly made a splash in the design community at the time. Gotlieb, pointing to the era\u2019s interest in the design and craftsmanship of religious art, says that Brault\u2019s luxurious geometric cup \u201cis an outstanding example of the best work that resulted from this revival.\u201d Fashioned from silver, silver gilt, enamel on copper and gilt brass, Chalice is part of the inimitable assembly of silverware in the Pavilion\u2019s trove that was gifted by former Canadian senator, Serge Joyal.<\/p>\n

Mountie Stool by SamareOpen this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Mountie stool by SamareSupplied<\/p>\n

Produced by Montreal studio Samare, which was founded in 2006, the Mountie Stool is a clever combination of vibrant, red-painted steel and earthy babiche \u2013 a kind of interwoven material, usually hide or animal gut, that\u2019s used to make snowshoes. The piece, made in an edition of 50 in 2007, evokes the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with not only its fiery hue but also the stool handle\u2019s design that resembles the pommel of a saddle. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: The Decorative Arts and Design Pavilion at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328020,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[307,304,305,306,308,93,61,60,19293],"class_list":["post-328019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-noastack"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328019\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/328020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}