The critically-acclaimed exhibition Moyra Davey: The Faithful at the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery marks the long-awaited return of Montreal-raised multi-disciplinary artist Moyra Davey (BFA 82).
The exhibition surveys Davey’s decades-long practice comprising photography, film and writing. It features early images of family and friends, her mailed photographs, as well as films examining the work of authors, philosophers and artists, notably her 2019 film I confess which connects American novelist James Baldwin with Quebec revolutionary nationalist Pierre Vallières.
The exhibition was organized by the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) and curated by Andrea Kunard, senior curator of photographs at the NGC. In fact, Kunard first discovered Davey’s work in The Modernist Document exhibition held at the Ellen Art Gallery during the Mois de la Photo back in 1999.
‘Personal history interwoven with critical concerns on art’
The Montreal- and Ottawa-raised artist, who now lives in New York, is a revered figure in the art world. Her work can be found in major public collections, including at the Tate Modern and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
A survey of her videos will be presented at the Museum of Modern Art in 2022; and the critically-hailed Moyra Davey: The Faithful — first exhibited at the NGC in 2020 — covers four decades of artistic production.