MTL SPotlight: Other People’s Paintings

Other People’s Paintings Part I begins. The Grand opening party was so packed they had to spill in to the Oprah show purple yoga nerd room. Now that is hype.

Wish I was there!

Our last afternoon in Montreal was spent ambushing the fine people of OPP Galerie located at 2110 St. Laurent Blvd. We kept pushing it off and didn’t really have a plan in mind for what “it” would be, so I took the reigns and bossed everybody around for an hour or two. IT WAS FUN. I am a great director. I’ve decided to giv’em a legit advertorial feature because I am so impressed by them and proud of what Angelo (founder/owner) has accomplished and he’s not even 29. A-hole.

Here we have Monsieur, resident in-house artiste extraordinaire, Alex Slim. He paints huge colourful canvases with gobs of acrylic, sometimes adding scary details like leather face, haunting sunken eyes with gross teeth mouths, I love it! Look:

The night before whilst completely annihilated by the night before that, myself, ang and teacher wandered around OPP and I finally noticed this piece by A.slim, one of my favourites. It’s in the corner by the purple yoga class looking room (that they will be screening films in) up high for one and all to take in. It’s a fun gallery, with a colourful blend and variety of mixed media as well as retail (upstairs in the showroom), fashion and clothing accessories respectively. It’s a playground for sure OMG I should have began with that part.

The building itself is quite magnificent, OPP is on one of those crazy sloped streets so when you hang outside during an art opening you get to pose like you’re scaling a mountain which lends a cavernous castle/tower-come-bunker feel from within the space.

Replete with an ornate mosaic stone floor and requisite hipster wallabees. It feels like an actual museum, and you can see that the wall is rounded like the base of a tower, make sure you look up too, it’s beautiful, a windy staircase goes all the way up.

Deeper in to the bunker, along the corridor and through the art tunnel, of which the subject matter ranges from modern pop culture in gayly-lit pop-art, to dark, gruesome and more disturbing subject matter, banksy-ish, and abstract. It’s a wonderland for the eyes.

This is cold lampin’ I forget where I found that term, maybe a ghostface lyric, something hip hop and street. I interpret it to mean, “chillin” or “hanging oot” for the canadians reading out there. No one else I know says it. Ever. I am a wordsmith. We were straight cold lampin’ it all over Angelo’s gallery for days ‘out a care in the world. I waxed poetic on what their lives must be like running this place. I like, I like.

I have video discussing some of the pieces, this one too. It is reminiscent of peacock feathers, the artist lacquered all of the canvases giving it a thick glass material quality and the term now escapes me but if I could do it to my art I would, AND WILL. These also look like satellite photos and are hung smartly by the continents lazered in steel on the neighbouring orange walls looking on to the cork wall facing them, giving that whole section of the gallery a pentagon/area 51 quality. Or the last 20 minutes of Terminator 3. In short, awesome. You can check it out here nearing the end:

That was my post-mexican lunch happy dance.

Cork wall. V financial district. Pro guy.

How’s it hangin’? Tough? lulz. That’s two hanging jokes in one. Oh nevermind.

That must have taken hours.

Alex is a very pleasant, cool dude. I thought all french people were supposed to be arrogant and I asked him so many stupid questions he didn’t smirk once I almost started doing foolish shit purposely to test him, and still nothing. He did ask me what perfume I was wearing. Well, he is french after all. (It’s ZEN by Shiseido).

Then I played dress-up. Dress by Aah Jee. We just became fb buddies, there’s not much on her there (aren’t artists so mysterious and aloof?) but it says she studied fashion at Collège LaSalle, (which is where my mother is originally from) she is cute with blonde hair and Angelo said she cranks these knits out no problemo. Kinda like Rodarte tights eh. Are you shocked that “I” “know” “things” about fashion? I have no control over the order of my photos so more in this dress to come.

Can’t stop thinking about this shirt, which is by Wildfox. It’s very soft, Sunday afternoon soft. Preppy boyfriend bait, my specialty.

When styling your shoot know that you can get away with your pants pulled down when you’ve a long sleeve on. Then, when you’re topless the pants come on. #rules.

My Bettie Page bottoms are tight and can bunch at the zipper if I don’t contort, also I was fat this day. Too much boozing.

Each symbol, or graphic on every shirt is precisely what you would choose for yourself if you’re girly at heart. I have had whole packets of this exact sticker as a girl, teen, last week lol. Never tire of looking at heart rainbows. I am Rainbow Bright after all.

When you style thyself for a shoot, you must then pose thyself and thyself has decided to parody pop star songstresses. Yes I am one thousand per cent serious and this is what divas pose like I have decided. I had no mirrors and no prep so I raised my mawfuckin’ arm and let’er rip.

CAN’A GET’A AMEN AND A HELL YEAH!? This is my Mariah Carey.

Ooh nice twirl.

This apple is alive. There’s a real one inside, ew. Angelo knows absolutely every detail of everything, like a psycho collector. Which is exactly what he is. A buyer and cataloguer of goods, oui?

Buy that light box for your designer luxury apartment. They put that screen/print in it themselves. Looks so good. I love that scene in royal tenenbaums with the huge hipster canvas behind owen wilson over his couch, that’s when I knew Wes Anderson was a hipster, which is also consequently when I realized hipsters were hipsters, the shift from mod to hipster began. I saw this painting in Vice before the movie came out OMG that is SUCH a hipster thing to say barf. omg so is that.

Art in cinema tells a billion stories. Interesting backstory on the piece. A lot of the stuff in OPP Galerie is similar to this vein of art, enlarged hipster photographs. Retro. Chic. Bit of a drug vibe. Ultra cool. Make your own Wes Anderson scene.

Plastic brass knucks, or “grill style” bling. Also seen here:

in the comments someone said that this was the worst running man of all time. Pardon me while I partake in a “flame” “war” for a moment will ya?

worst running man of all time

geekaleek

@geekaleek Precisely! That’s because it was the Roger Rabbit. Know your dance moves playa hata! AlalalalAallaadah-da!

Nice accidental mystery camera setting!

Teach liked the canvas by my longs ass legs. I’m pretty 1970’s stacked hey? I wore my monster ‘kini in order to match a few pieces in the retail space, it’s beneath my romper. I COMMIT.

Like I said.

Hahahah remember when I said just the day before I wasn’t at all impressed by gun (by proxy violence) bravado? (lots of happy scrolling you’ll find it). can you imagine slipping one of these into your little brother’s LEGO by mistake? Oh aww a bow-tie. (changing subject).

VICODIN pill necklace, porcelain as well as silver, and an oxy, no wait I think it’s a percocet. I KNOW RIGHT. Here’s a closer look. Great packaging too. Clever city.

Bullet earbuds. I believe that is severely tempting fate, playing with it for sure. Pass.

This talented street artist’s name is STELA, so tight right. I’m going to send a pair of shoes for painting.

Ang and I share a penchant for the movie Big but he beat me to it though, his loft, this toy vending machine of dead stock retro designer shades. Porsche, Playboy, Caviar, Cazal, carrera, Versace, everything!

Browse a little.

I bought this. Also one for teacher, it’s white with red and black brustles. Looks Nazi. Mine is for my Rasta mornings. I will likely give it away as a gift.

Couldn’t resist.

Thought these were perfume bottles at first.

Oh I’m an idiot. It’s O P P. Stands for other people’s paintings. When Angelo told me about it on msn or something I was like pfft as if, right? Touché buddy. Showing people up is my favourite thing in life, I remember in Vice employees of the month (yes another reference sheesh) section they profiled an artist, former vice employee who left to embark on her own art career for success and they ripped on her for that, then she did it, succeeded, showed them up and they printed that their faces were red. I loved that and I LOVE this gallery, cheers Angelo!

Not that he had to show me up or anything but, anyway, he began OPP because he said he doesn’t know anyone our age who collects art, invests in it and so on. Good point. I asked Alex if “art was back” and he said yes. I assumed it was, or is about to be. ON THE CUSP, DUDES!

Hi Terry! Who wants to watch Cheech and Chong now?!

Ok so these are by Porsche right? Why? For at night (wind)? Or just to be a penis? ‘Cos they’re not prescription but I guess you need to fill them with something. Fashion is confusing, don’t question it. Just assume it’s right. Snob’s guide to life.

Ok I am turning this report in late and chopping it in half, it’s too sunny to waste. Be sure to drop in on OPP mes amis and say hi to Angelo, you will not regret it.

Want me to come on down and feature your space, boutique, restaurant, event, anything? Don’t be shy!

RAYMI@RAYMITHEMINX.COM

I’m your it girl, fit girl, too legit to quit girl.

xoxo