Éric Sauvé

De valse et d'abattoir

Éric Sauvé chooses materials that are simultaneously seductive and repellent in his installations. His work is replete with sharp or contusing objects, creating a tension between the fragility of the material and its menacing air that heightens the viewer’s sense of vulnerability.

In the framework of this exhibit, Sauvé displays a series of eight lamps made of broken glass bottles. Each light hangs about seven feet off the floor, forcing viewers who venture under these ‘swords of Damocles‘ to reflexively bend down. Through the material used to make the lamps and in the site transformation achieved by their linear arrangement and dramatic lighting, Éric Sauvé explores the idea of attraction-repulsion of the seductive power of a dangerous object and of the process of creation through destruction. Glass breaks unpredictably into complex shapes. Drawn by the form and light of the lamps, viewers assume an attitude of worship as they gaze upwards for a closer look. But the nearness of the broken glass and the implicit violence are also intimidating, thus creating an atmosphere that is both intense and ambiguous.

Éric Sauvé studied at Concordia University’s Visual Arts Department and at l’École du meuble de Montréal. As an emerging artist on Montreal’s art scene, he has taken part in exhibitions since 1999. He participated in the group show This is Your Final Answer at the Leonard and Bina Ellen Gallery in 2000 and was also resident artist at Est-Nord-Est (St-Jean-Port-Joli) in 2002. In the summer of 2003, he was selected for the first edition of the Place des Arts basin installations project. That year he also exhibited at the Centre des arts contemporains du Québec à Montréal. De valse et d’abattoir is his second solo show.