MICHAEL DUMONTIER, "A Moon or a Button," January 28 to March 25, 2012, Plug In ICA, Winnipeg

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"Untitled (clock)"

Michael Dumontier, "Untitled (clock)," 2009, paper, staple, and map pin on wall.

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"Untitled (egg)"

Michael Dumontier, "Untitled (egg)," 2011, sanded / hand-embossed paper.

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"Untitled (clock)"

Michael Dumontier, "Untitled (clock)," 2009, paper, staple, and map pin on wall.

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MICHAEL DUMONTIER, A Moon or a Button

Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, Winnipeg

January 28 to March 25, 2012

By Margaret Bessai

A Moon or a Button, new works by Michael Dumontier, is similar to a haiku by Basho or a zinger from Groucho Marx — a few well-chosen words and the world drops away from beneath you. Suddenly falling. Or flying. Or laughing. One experiences a flash of understanding that gives way to joy. This exhibition of drawings created with materials normally found in a hardware store, is elegant, minimalist trompe-l’oeil in sculpture and collage. Curator Micah Lexier describes Dumontier’s process in the studio with a quote from Albert Einstein, “Make things as simple as possible, but not simpler.” For example, an illusion of an envelope, drawn in wood with the cut of a saw. Like a Zen koan, the exhibition title was chosen in homage to the curious children’s book by Ruth Krauss, A Moon or a Button: A collection of first picture ideas published in 1959 with provocatively scribbled illustrations by Remy Charlip. Michael Dumontier is an artist well-known for collaboration. A founding member of the now disbanded Royal Art Lodge, he has also created Sound Machines with Tom Elliott and doll-works with Drue Langlois. This solo exhibition presents five years of Dumontier’s independent work for the first time in a public gallery, and shows concurrently with Like-Minded, a companion exhibition curated by Micah Lexier — works by 36 artists, including Michael Snow and Roula Parthenou, contextualizing Dumontier’s aesthetic and wit.