Come to Circa and get lost in the clouds created by artist Guy Laramée.

I had a sneak peek of this installation as it was being assembled. A panorama window cut into one of the gallery’s interior walls presents the vista of a valley disappearing into a distant horizon, spectacular cragged mountains rising into the sky, and a lush carpet of vegetation lining the rocks. I was reminded of old-fashioned museum diorama, peering into a box containing this miniature world made me feel like a giant. But the best was still to come: the clouds moved in. Hazy grey wisps of smoke hold motionless in the air as though captured in amber. I wasn’t the only one sitting in the row of chairs facing the exhibit today – several other art lovers got stuck here, quietly zenning out. Here, in the semi-darkness illuminated only by the light filtering through the fog, your mind calms and wanders. You become hypnotized by the nearly imperceptible movement on the mist. Like a Caspar David Friedrich in 3-D this piece is both romantic and grandiose, and utterly absorbing. Beware – you’ll end up staying longer than you’d planned.

Centre d’expositions Circa
space 444
Guy Laramée
Le Nuage d’Inconnaissance
exhibition period: October 18 – November 15, 2008
www.circa-art.com