12 July to 18 August 2012
Opening Thursday 12 July from 6 to 8

BGL
Better Mistakes

Quebec trio BGL is known for sculpture, installation, photography and video that pushes the objects of contemporary culture beyond their normal function, and creates fantastic scenarios in which things don't quite behave as they should.  Taking a special interest in the tension between nature and culture, between consumerism and freedom, and between high culture and low, these three engage in a relentless investigation of social norms and cultural patterns, always with a keen sense of humour and irony.

Lately, the group has taken to working with steel barriers.  In their hands, these instruments of control and restriction become a playground, an invention, or an adventure.  The other works shown here similarly embody BGL's characteristic experimental spirit.  They employ various materials and techniques, and also work with the environment of the gallery itself, to subvert the viewer's expectations, addressing the ambiguity in art making between “right” and “wrong”.

BGL’s recent solo exhibitions include Spectacles + Problèmes at the Mac-Val in Paris (part of Nuit Blanche 2011), Cultiver son jardin at the Centre de design à l’UQAM, Montreal and Marshmallow + Cauldron + Fire =, at the Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver. Recent group shows include Dorm at The Model, Sligo, Ireland, Manoeuvers at Galerie Toni Tàpies in Barcelona and Caught in the Act: Viewer as Performer, at the National Gallery of Canada.  They are also included in the exhibition Oh, Canada at Mass MoCA, and they recently completed the Louis Odette Sculptor-in-Residence program at York University in Toronto.