Entrevues – Ciel variable Magazine

Éric Desmarais, Caught Up in the System – An interview by Jean Gagnon

Ciel variable 129 - FROM CONTINENT TO CONTINENT | Entrevues
Authors: Jean Gagnon | Artists: Eric Desmarais

[Summer 2025] Caught Up in the System Éric Desmarais interviewed by Jean Gagnon [EXCERPT] In botanical science, a sporobolus is a droughttolerant grass with long, dense leaves. In art, it refers to Sporobole, an artist-run centre in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Rooted in its city and region for more than fifty years, first as the Regroupement des […]

Éric Desmarais, Sporobole: A Canary in the Technological Mine – An interview by Jean Gagnon

Ciel variable 128 – CHANGE OF SCENE | Entrevues
Artists: Jean Gagnon

At a time when artificial intelligence (AI) is infiltrating the creative process, the artist-run center Sporobole, whose expertise encompasses digital realities, advocates for an active and pragmatic stance, “neither technophilic nor technophobic.” In an interview, its director, Éric Desmarais, comments on the role of art and copyright in a context where AI would be in control.

Charles-Frédérick Ouellet, A Book – and an Award – Sophie Mangado

Ciel variable 127 – SISTERS, FIGHTERS, QUEENS | Entrevues
Authors: Sophie Mangado | Artists: Charles-Frédérick Ouellet

In this interview, conducted in the wake of two pieces of news concerning him (the publication of a book and the receiving of a prestigious award), Charles-Frédérick Ouellet talks about the backstory of the image honoured by the World Press Photo jury and about the approach behind his projects.

Andrea Kunard, La photographie au Musée des beaux-arts du Canada — Hélène Samson

Ciel variable 126 – TRAJECTORIES | Entrevues
Authors: Hélène Samson

[Summer 2024] by Hélène Samson [EXCERPT] The current photography collection at the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) was built from various sources. The original international collection was established by curator James Borcoman in 1967. After the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography (CMCP) closed, in 2009, the NGC incorporated its collection, which included the Still Photography […]

Chuck Samuels. Gales, nez qui coulent et défaillances de garde-robe — Chuck Samuels

Ciel variable 116 — LANDSCAPES AS MIRRORS | Entrevues, Interviews
Authors: Chuck Samuels | Artists: Chuck Samuels

[Hiver 2021] An Interview by Chuck Samuels Chuck Samuels is an occasional freelance critic who lives and works in Montreal. This is the third in a series of interviews with Chuck Samuels appearing in Ciel variable. He has also published articles in such Canadian contemporary arts magazines as MIX, Fuse, and Vanguard (co-written with Moira […]

Robert Walker, Griﬃntown / Montréal en mutation — James D. Campbell

Ciel variable 115 - THE MARCH OF THE WORLD | Entrevues, Interviews
Authors: James D. Campbell | Artists: Robert Walker

[Summer 2020] An Interview by James D. Campbell Robert Walker was born in Montreal in 1945. He graduated in visual arts from Sir George Williams University in the late 1960s. In 1975, he attended a workshop given by American photographer Lee Friedlander that would be transformative, and he embraced colour street photography as an aesthetic […]

Audrey Genois, MOMENTA 2019: Broadening the Field for the Biennale — Jacques Doyon

Ciel variable 113 - TRANS-IDENTITIES | Entrevues, Interviews
Authors: Audrey Genois, Jacques Doyon

[Fall 2019] An interview by Jacques Doyon Audrey Genois has been the executive director of MOMENTA | Biennale de l’image (formerly Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal) since 2016. She was assistant curator at the Galerie de l’UQAM from 2002 to 2016. Over fifteen years, she organized more than sixty exhibitions and ten national […]

Chantal Pontbriand, On the situation of contemporary-art magazines – Jacques Doyon

Ciel variable 79 - COLOURS OF THE CITY | Entrevues, Interviews
Authors: Chantal Pontbriand, Jacques Doyon

[Summer 2008] For thirty years, Chantal Pontbriand has been the guiding light of the magazine Parachute. From the beginning, she positioned it among the internationally significant magazines. In parallel with its publishing activities, the magazine organized a series of events and conferences that were just as notable. In April 2007, Parachute announced a suspension of […]