What an absolute BLAST!!
I very much enjoyed an exciting trip to Montreal this past weekend with my husband and daughter. We were invited to attend a Gala Event at Galerie Youn in downtown Montreal where my son, Jamie Bradbury's work is currently on exhibit. Jamie a Visual Artist, recently moved from London, England to Montreal and Saturday night was the Gala Opening for his show.
The founder and director of the gallery is Juno Youn, who also co-founded and directed SPIN Gallery in Toronto (Ontario) from 1999 to 2007 prior to moving to Montreal, Canada. Galerie Youn represents several contemporary artists from around the world and participates in various art fairs and exhibitions each year.
GALERIE YOUN
Jamie's work primarily explores race, globalization and multiculturalism through the use of drawing, painting, sculptural installations, and writing. He recently lectured at McGill University and will be participating in a conference at Oxford University in London, England in July and then he is off to a residency in Atina, Italy. Not long ago, Jamie was shortlisted for the Jerwood Prize curated by Photoworks. Some of his works are held in private and public collections such as the National Portrait Gallery of Canada.
Jamie Bradbury - Visual Artist
Here is a couple of his pieces from the past few years that are not in his current Exhibition at Galerie Youn.
Here is a couple of his pieces from the past few years that are not in his current Exhibition at Galerie Youn.
Graphite (Pencil) on paper
Learning from the Master - This watercolour painting is of himself viewing a spectacular piece in a gallery.
Fritz - Another watercolour painting
(Ok, I am a very proud Momma bragging about her VERY talented son !!)
Anyway, back to the event it was a huge success with a lot of media coverage and was highly attended despite the torrential rainfall the entire day and evening. Fabulous wine, hors d'oeuvres, music and wonderful conversation with so many new acquaintances were the highlights of this spectacular night.
Unfortunately, this weekend very boldly reiterated that my 7 years of French study in school didn't stick; my French is totally non existent!!
As mentioned, Saturday it poured rain the entire day and unfortunately we did not get out to see the sites as we had intended. It has been many years since I visited Montreal and I remember just loving Old Montreal and really wanted to visit again. So we drove around Old Montreal site seeing which is by the way, sheer decadence for the eyes! I can certainly see why it is a major tourist attraction. Beautiful cafes, restaurants and wonderful shops line the gorgeous streets.
The architecture and cobbled streets are breathtaking and have been restored/maintained to preserve the look and feel of its days as a settlement. Many of the buildings date back to the 17th century. The lovely horse-drawn caleches or carriages certainly help retain the feeling of days gone by. Simply Amazing!
If you have not had the pleasure of visiting Montreal, I would highly recommend it but there are just a few tidbits of important information that I would like to share with you before you go........
There are no right turns on a red light, the green flashing light is at the end instead of at the beginning and I recommend, you will thank me for this one, that if you do not know how to speak/read French that you bring along an English/French dictionary. This will assist you in reading the parking signs that are everywhere. We ended up with a $53.00 ticket because we parked in a permit parking only zone. My husband was seriously ticked!!!
I actually cannot wait to return to Montreal again and this trip has inspired me to take up French. I signed up for Duolingo recommended to me by Jamie my son. You can learn several different languages in Duolingo. It is a very effective language learning tool which is completely free with no hidden fees.
So far, I have completed a french lesson each day since my trip and surprisingly, after all these years of not speaking any French whatsoever, I actually have retained more French that I thought. Love it!!
Soulier Design Studio specializes in Sustainability and Eco Friendly Design, Products and Lifestyle
Please visit us at http://www.soulierdesignstudio.com
Unfortunately, this weekend very boldly reiterated that my 7 years of French study in school didn't stick; my French is totally non existent!!
As mentioned, Saturday it poured rain the entire day and unfortunately we did not get out to see the sites as we had intended. It has been many years since I visited Montreal and I remember just loving Old Montreal and really wanted to visit again. So we drove around Old Montreal site seeing which is by the way, sheer decadence for the eyes! I can certainly see why it is a major tourist attraction. Beautiful cafes, restaurants and wonderful shops line the gorgeous streets.
The architecture and cobbled streets are breathtaking and have been restored/maintained to preserve the look and feel of its days as a settlement. Many of the buildings date back to the 17th century. The lovely horse-drawn caleches or carriages certainly help retain the feeling of days gone by. Simply Amazing!
Here are a few images that I snapped with my Blackberry this weekend, highlighting some of the exquisite Architecture
Enjoy!
If you have not had the pleasure of visiting Montreal, I would highly recommend it but there are just a few tidbits of important information that I would like to share with you before you go........
There are no right turns on a red light, the green flashing light is at the end instead of at the beginning and I recommend, you will thank me for this one, that if you do not know how to speak/read French that you bring along an English/French dictionary. This will assist you in reading the parking signs that are everywhere. We ended up with a $53.00 ticket because we parked in a permit parking only zone. My husband was seriously ticked!!!
I actually cannot wait to return to Montreal again and this trip has inspired me to take up French. I signed up for Duolingo recommended to me by Jamie my son. You can learn several different languages in Duolingo. It is a very effective language learning tool which is completely free with no hidden fees.
So far, I have completed a french lesson each day since my trip and surprisingly, after all these years of not speaking any French whatsoever, I actually have retained more French that I thought. Love it!!
à bientôt
(Bye for now)
Soulier Design Studio specializes in Sustainability and Eco Friendly Design, Products and Lifestyle
Please visit us at http://www.soulierdesignstudio.com
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