Last night I went to check out Parisian Laundry, lovely gallery in the St-Henri neighbourhood, to go to the opening of “Comedy, Tragedy, Sketches of Me”. For the first time in Canada, New York artist Kalup Linzy is presenting his world of videos and performances there. Known for his series of satirical videos where his approach and narrative tone is marked by humour, where tenderness rubs alongside vulgarity and sincerity. Linzy himself plays several characters, including a few drag queens, characters he will then bring on stage with him, in song and piano.
A seducing and fun environment, I really enjoyed my night. It is important to note that his work was published in The New York Times, Art in America and Artforum. In 2007, he received the Guggenheim grant and in 2008 received a Creative Capital Grant.
The artist’s performance was only held last night, but the exposition runs from 8 May to 13 June 2009. I strongly recommend it, especially with the grey weather we’re having.
The black and white photo is from his MySpace page.