Nature is the central pivot for Linda Covit’s sculptural work. Since the exploratory journeys that brought her to gardens in Europe and then Japan, the artist presents a work that is placed on the fracture line between nature and culture. On the one hand, natural elements (plants, flowers), on the other, elements created by humans (art, architecture); two categories that find common territory with landscape architecture.
But Covit’s work goes well beyond a simple use of natural elements, instead approaching nature in its entirety, sometimes as metaphor, sometimes as reference or even as sculptural element. Such an artistic practice naturally led Covit to privilege works in situ, that is, works conceived specifically for a space. In this manner the artist has realized numerous public art works which propose a rereading of the elements specific to a site. At Plein Sud, the artist continues this practice by conceiving an exhibition in two parts that makes use of the two gallery spaces. The first space groups together an ensemble of photographs, images taken in Japan that serve as catalysts for her work. The exhibition continues into the second gallery space for which the artist created a large sculpture in wood. Imposing, the sculpture is illuminated from within. While not a form common to traditional Japanese architecture, it is at once formal, refined and very sensual, forcefully recapturing the relationship of man to nature. Simultaneously receptacle or sanctuary, dwelling or nest, it is a contemplative artwork, where the interior illumination unfolds, which reunites the mastery of materials and the plastic qualities of the artist’s work with universal philosophies and needs.
- {Light Container (bois)} (détail), 2012
- Bois torréfié, acier, lumières / Torrefied wood, steel, lights. 2,90 x 3,70 m. Photo : Marc Cramer
Biographical Note
The artist lives and works in Montréal, where she was born. She obtained a Bachelor of Science, major in psychology, at Montréal’s McGill University in 1969. Since 1975, she has had solo exhibitions and participated in group exhibitions in many Canadian cities, as well as in the United States, Italy and Japan (Canadian Embassy in Tokyo, Gallery K and the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial 2003). The artist has produced a large number of public artworks in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, Alaska, and also China, a gift from the Government of Quebec to the province of Shandong. She has received several prizes and figures in public and private collections.
Thanks
The artist thanks the following people:
Michel Bernier, Marc Cramer, Mona Hakim, Thomas Miau, and Jean-Pierre Thonney
Publication
Mona Hakim and Marie Perrault
Linda Covit
Longueuil: Plein sud, centre d’exposition en art actuel
2014, 136 pages
