FRANÇOISE SULLIVAN CORRIDART DANS LA RUE SHERBROOKE28.09-06.10.1976

FRANÇOISE SULLIVAN from Montréal, Canada, is visiting Europe and has recently arrived in Lund, where she is holding an exhibition at Galerie S:t Petri, titled “Legends of Artists” (Légende des artistes).

The exhibition, which takes place from 28 September to 6 October 1976, consists of three parts, two of which were created as a reaction to her first personal encounter with the classical cultural heritage.
After returning to Canada from a year-long stay in Italy in the early 1970s, Françoise Sullivan wanted to clarify for herself the “meaning of art.”
“So many different means exist,” she says, “to express the original in art.”

Françoise Sullivan’s medium this time became photography.
In the first section, we see ten small photographs of the artist walking through an area of Montréal filled with oil refineries.
The text accompanying the photographs reflects her slightly disillusioned thoughts about contemporary art.
As she walks through this ugly industrial landscape, she recalls Hegel’s words about the classical period:

“Nothing can be truer or more beautiful.”

But despite the ugliness, one must still play in life, says Françoise Sullivan.
In another series of walks, she takes the Greek god Apollo as her companion.
Thus, the unpleasant surroundings become less striking — Apollo represents for her beauty and strength.

The third section of this exhibition consists of material made for a major event in the summer of 1976, when the cultural section of the Olympic Games invited eighty artists to decorate Montréal’s main boulevard, Sherbrooke Street.
However, the city’s mayor, Jean Drapeau, found the artworks unsatisfactory and ordered them to be bulldozed down.
Within a week, Montréal’s residents were able to see the artists’ works, but despite protests — including from Québec’s Minister of Culture — the pieces were never restored.

Françoise Sullivan’s work, “Legends of Artists,” included photographs, texts, and articles about important artists and writers who had lived on Sherbrooke Street during different eras.
An excerpt from this large document is shown in the third section of the exhibition at Galerie S:t Petri.

Françoise Sullivan has previously exhibited her works in Scandinavia, as well as in France, Italy, Belgium, South America, and Canada.

The artist will be present at the opening day.
The exhibition is open weekdays 3 p.m.–8 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays 12 p.m.–5 p.m.