Philippe Allard
ARTIST STATEMENT
Coming from monumental sculpture in situ, Philippe Allard’s current practice is part of installation art. His approach is mainly inspired by arte povera. He recovers materials and objects from industrial production and accessible in large quantities in order to divert their primary meaning. His critical interest in the impact of human activities and our consumption habits on the environment has led him to draw materials from a palette of everyday objects whose real utility is negligible compared to their ecological footprint. These materials include election signs, water bottles, plastic bags, oil barrels, cars, etc. When manipulated, grouped together and transformed into megastructures, these objects become public monuments that confront the viewer and instantly lead him or her to question the global impact of our daily gestures. The assemblages composed of a multitude of these recycled products depict the parasitic behaviours of humans on their environment. By perverting the nature of these objects, Philippe Allard seeks to move them into a system for which they were not intended - in this case, art. Thought sculpture, video, installation and collaborative projects, his work revolves around the notions of detours, recuperation and repetition.
Philippe Allard lives and works in Montreal. He holds a bachelor’s degree in graphic design from Université du Québec à Montréal. His work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions in Canada, France, Portugal, Morocco and South Korea. His work has been shown at articule, the Darling Foundry, Atoll Centre, the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown and recently completed a special project with Dare-Dare. With a focus on in situ interventions, he has also completed several commissions for public and private works. He was with Justin Duchesneau, winner of the Place des Arts de Montréal competition in 2009, recipient of the AGAC public art prize for their installation Courtepointe in 2014 and author of the permanent public work Le Joyau royal et le Mile doré for the City of Montreal’s public art office. He has created his first six permanent works of art for the policy of integrating the arts into architecture. His works can be found in the collection of the Cirque du Soleil and the Baie-St-Paul Museum. In August 2019, he was part of the international Thames & Hudson publication Hundred sculptors of tomorrow.