Courtesy of Snap Gallery

Arrivederci, Aroma | “Crépuscule de Dieu” is one of the highlights of Guy Langevin’s Scent of Memory exhibition at SNAP Gallery.

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Snap Gallery

This week, Jill and Mandy open up their nostrils as well as their eyes s they attend the opening reception of Guy Langevin’s new SNAP exhibition, Scent of Memory.

Jill: Guy Langevin is the head of a printmaking studio in Trois Rivières, Que., where he happily focuses on the medium of mezzotint. That’s a method of printmaking in which the artist uses reduction drawing to create eerily dark images out of a thick copper plate — a medium that’s captivated Langevin for more than 20 years. In fact, he asks: “Is mezzotint a sickness? If yes, I am deeply affected.” Were you affected by these images, Mandy?

Mandy: Ha, what a wonderfully cheesy segue! But yes, yes, I was affected by Langevin’s work. He gives us small, blurred images of human bodies, sometimes barely suggested, other times heavily drawn. Always they appear to be shifting or moving, transforming into something. The depth of that black created by the mezzotint gives these figures a kind of ancient photographic feel. I was super-impressed with many of them.

Jill: That black, indeed! The tiny depressions in the copper plate allow the blackest blacks to appear. Langevin uses a combination of mezzotint, drypoint, and what appears to be traditional etching in his images, creating a mélange of drawing styles; the mezzotint portions of the images host the shaded, illusive figures that emerge quietly from the black surfaces, while the drypoint and etching portions are stark, sketchy line drawings. These two styles are in direct contrast to one another — and, as you’d expect, they work together better in some prints than in others.

Mandy: Where I kind of get lost is when those heavy sketch-like lines start to feel too disconnected from the rest of the image. The softness of that velvety black holds the figure so well; sometimes the drawing of the extended feet, or even the hatch-line marks of environment can become visually unrelated. They seem to stand apart from the picture, which is saddening, considering how amazing most of these images are.

Jill: I agree. Langevin really has a masterful hold of mezzotinting. There’s a distinct Francis Bacon-esque quality in the way he distorts his figures. True, those extended line drawings can be a bit distracting at times; however, I think they’re quite effective when Langevin uses them within the figure’s environment. In particular, “À Contretemps” and “Point de Non Retour” find the proper balance between arbitrary and purposeful markmaking.

Mandy: I definitely see the similarities to Bacon’s work — Langevin and Bacon’s imagery pack the same psychological punch. For whatever reason, the emotional currency of an image seems to escalate once you start to mess with the representation of the human body. What do you think is Langevin’s intent with the figure here?

Jill: His statement indicates that he likes the way mezzotint can capture the emotion and physicality of movement and light — burnishing and smoothing areas out of the darkness.

Mandy: Ahh, folks, this is seriously some really beautiful work. The way he describes the body and how he shows it as this shifting, stretching, melting object, and then adds that element of malice — it’s remarkably touching. It keeps your eyes excited. Those cream mattes are unfortunate, though. You need to completely ignore them to get to the good stuff within.

Jill: Well, I’m glad you were the one who mentioned the presentation this time! You know I’m a big proponent of taking the time to really consider how your work appears in an exhibition; Langevin’s works would have benefited from proper framing, or at least the absence of butterfly clips. These works are real stunners, though; they shouldn’t have to compete with distracting presentation.

Mandy: For sure, Miss Jill. You know I’m with you on this one. But maybe if the artist showing in the studio exhibition space hadn’t used up all the frames, there would have been some left over for Langevin. Just kidding! You know I love your show ... everyone go check out Jill’s work, also currently up at SNAP. Do it up!