Purgatorio Gallery Exhibition
On February 14th, 2018, The Henry Lehmann Gallery in Vanier College unveiled its first exhibition of the semester. Communications students Matty Gavarrette, Adam Karagiannis, Gabriela Alvarado Lopez, Janier Lontoc, Valérie Nault, Joe Carlo Romero and Hannah Shammas collaborated to create this amazing exhibition. The curators of this exhibition were Vanier students Cristina Athina Mignacca and Annalisa Cogo of the Henry Lehmann Gallery Committee.
Purgatorio is the title of this exhibition, which makes a not so subtle nod to the Mount of Purgatory; i.e. the seven deadly sins, from Dante’s Divine Comedy. Using the seven deadly sins as well as Tarot cards as their inspiration, these seven artists visually represented one of the deadly sins each, and all using colored pencil on illustration board.
The curatorial statement of Purgatorio is as follows: “It is considered part of human nature to stray from the virtues instilled in our society during our exploration of free will, but our rebellion can quickly reach a state of excess. Purgatorio is a visual demonstration of these states of self-indulgence. Drawing inspirations from the use of Tarot card readings as a form of introspection, seven artists have illustrated macabre personifications of the seven deadly sins: gluttony, greed, wrath, pride, lust, envy, and sloth”.
This statement perfectly encompasses the themes conveyed in this exhibition, but nothing can compare to seeing each of these large 40×20 sized drawings up close. It is truly spectacular to see the amount of precision, detail, and time that went into each of these works of art. Each artist has so much to be proud of in what they have accomplished individually, but also as a collective.
The vernissage or unveiling of this exhibition happened on February 14th during UB. Artists and all who attended the event were greeted with snacks and sweets, and attendees were welcomed into the gallery after a short greeting by the gallery curators. Those who attended were also able to ask artists about their works individually and learn more about each artist’s inspiration, and reasons behind why they chose to represent their sin in the way that they did.
If you missed the vernissage, you still have a chance to view the seven wonderful artworks! The exhibition will be up until March 9th in the Henry Lehmann Gallery, which is located in B-305. If you are in the mood to indulge in some lustrous and enviable artworks, do not hesitate to visit the gallery!
