Mathieu Grenier

“The way I work is driven by an intention to deconstruct photography. For me, photography is an opaque window to the ‘what was once.’ It is with their levels of opacity that the photographs let the viewer access the other side of the surface or bounce back into space. My current research focuses on how display technologies structure our perceptions of space and image. This is something I feel is always altered by the physical medium used: the image appears through screens, projections, different types of papers, etc. I feel the image reveals itself through a defined space, which conveys a formatted and limited experience. I experiment with techniques that expand photography from its fixation on a 2D surface. Through the creation of objects that are intertwined with images, I intend to explore how images can occupy a physical presence into space by combining the practices of photography and installation art. Through assemblages and alternative photography processes, I try to bring out the physical materiality of the image within its production and exhibition context.”

Mathieu Grenier lives and works in Austin, TX and Montreal, Canada. He holds a B.F.A. in Visual and Media Arts from the University of Quebec in Montreal and he is a current M.F.A. candidate in Studio Art at the University of Texas in Austin. Mathieu had solo exhibitions in Montreal at René Blouin Gallery, Arprim artist run center, Roger Bellemare Gallery, in Chicoutimi at Le Lobe artist run center and in France at Centre d’art La Halle. He participated in numerous group shows in Canada, in France and in the United States. Grenier will be attending the Royal College of Art in London next fall as part of the RCA/UT exchange program. He will be presenting solo exhibitions at René Blouin Gallery in Montreal, Plein Sud artist run center in Longueuil and L’imagier exhibition center in Gatineau. He has been awarded the 2014 Charles Pachter’s prize for Canadian emerging artist from the Hnatyshyn Foundation. Mathieu Grenier’s work has been supported by the Canada Art Council, the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec and the Montreal Art Council.