GALERIE YOUN CELEBRATES 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY WITH ‘YOUNIVERSE’ GROUP EXHIBITION
In celebration of its 10th anniversary, Galerie Youn is pleased to present a group exhibition cheekily titled YOUNIVERSE. Curated by owner and founder Juno Youn, this commemorative exhibition brings together seventeen artists who have shown work at the gallery over the past decade: Bernice Lum, Christine Kim, Eva Blue, Hugo Alonso, Ian Healy, Ian Stone, Jay Dart, Jeff Nachtigall, Jude Castel, Mark Liam Smith, Melanie Garcia, Michael Scoggins, Peter Chan, Paul Morstad, Sean Mundy, Shen Wei, and Yuriko Kubuta.
Since its inception, the gallery has focused on cultivating a community of local and international emerging and mid-career artists — showcasing diverse talents in painting, sculpture, graphic illustration, drawing, printmaking, photography and digital installations. YOUNIVERSE is a celebration of this community and the creative spirit these artists continue to persevere amid the complexities of everyday life.
For this exhibition, seventeen artists offer artworks that revisit their own history with the gallery. Exploring themes of identity, nostalgia, fragility, and isolation, to name a few, these chosen pieces were formative and transformative to their development as an artist. In Jay Dart’s piece entitled “YY”, the Canadian drawist created an honorary piece dedicated to Youn and the gallery. Dart depicts his signature illustrated figure, known as the young wanderer, atop Y-shaped towering twigs that are engraved with the initials of the gallery’s represented artists — an expression of gratitude for the nurturing support over the past decade.
In other works, characters and figurative forms are a response to the self and their relation to identity, as seen in pieces from Ian Healey, Ian Stone and Christine Kim. Imaginative works depict the sentimental, and sometimes mischievous narratives that reflect our childhoods — like that of the vintage bowling pins by Bernice Lum or large-scale mixed media paintings of jungle cats by Jeff Nachtigall.
“I’m drawn to artists who create from their truest form — many who diverge from the traditionally exclusionary art world. I’m so grateful to represent many of these artists and to have provided them a platform to express themselves fully,” says Juno Youn. Through his intuitive curatorial direction, Youn’s tenacity and persistence has led him to be a facilitator between creatives and community — supporting artists so that their work can inspire audiences far and wide.
Bernice Lum - Not for Bowling Pins
Mixed media on bowling pin (maple wood), 2021, 15 x 4.75 x 4.75”
Jay Dart -YY
Pastel and coloured pencil on paper, 2022, 18.5" x 24”
Hugo Alonso - R
Acrylic on paper, 2022, 19" x 27” (framed)
Eva Blue - Bashfull II
Digital Photo, 2021, 38" x 42” (framed)
Jeff Nacthigall - Fear of a Jungle Cat
Acrylic, spray paint, gel medium, sand, latex on canvas, 2022, 92" x 128”
Ian Healy - Walk through the Park
Charcoal on Lokta paper, 2021, 27.5" x 21.6” (SOLD)
Melanie Garcia - Gateway I
Paper, acrylic, charcoal on paper collage, 2022, 11" x 14” (framed)
Sean Mundy - Elude
Digital photograph,2014, 40" x 32” (framed)
Jude Castel - So what do you think
Ballpoint pen on 180g paper, 2020, 6,9" x 10,2” (framed)
Peter Chan - Alectrona
Oil on linen, 2021, 18" x 24”
Yuriko Kubota - Fragments Fusuma
Gold leaf on archival pigments prints on canvas, 2022, 12" x 17,5”
Paul Morstad - The Town Musicians of Salzburg
Watercolor on paper, 2021, 36.5” x 54.5" (framed)
Mark Liam Smith - A Song of Sixpence
Oil on canvas, 2021, 40" x 30”
Michael Scoggins - Make Love
Graphite, acrylic, gesso, colored pencil on paper, 2022, 18,5" x 51” 2022 (framed)
Ian Stone - Meet My Mother Half
Oil on linen, 2022, 25" x 20”
Shen Wei - Charro Suit 3
Ink on giclee print on Canvas, acrylic varnish, 2022, 9" x 11" (SOLD)
Shen Wei - Charro Suit 5
Ink on giclee print on Canvas, acrylic varnish, 2022, 6" x 8” (SOLD)
YOUNIVERSE will include several celebratory programs throughout the month:
Opening Celebration
Thursday, June 9 from 5-8PM with several of the artists in attendance.
Gallery Weekend Montreal: Presented by AGAC
Thursday, June 16 - Sunday, June 19
As a member of Association des galeries d’art contemporain (AGAC), the gallery will host an open house and guided gallery visits for Gallery Weekend Montreal — a four day city art tour for the public to meet and exchange with gallery owners, artists and other important players in the art world.
Thursday and Friday: 12PM to 7PM
Saturday and Sunday: 12PM to 5PM
