Lot
23
La famille idéale en vacances
Ink on paper, 1992
56 x 76 cm
Estimate
$800
In this drawing, we see a group of people in various attitudes; one is vomiting, another is biting someone else, two are kissing, or showing their genitalia, and then some dejected heads are hanging from wires. One can nearly hear the protagonists. It carries several plot lines, evinced by strokes that go from white to saturated black and whose contour animates the work. An aspect of my production consists of articulating social commentary through striking images. This family vacation expresses our social situation in a world that considers itself perfect, but is really far from it.
Biographical note
Born in 1951, Daniel Erban lives and works in Montreal, where he teaches math at John Abbott College. After receiving a BFA at Concordia University in 1980, he mainly explored engraving at Atelier Circulaire and Engramme. Since then, he has had numerous solo exhibitions and has taken part in over 200 group exhibitions, including international biennials of engraving. With the touring exhibition Dehuman, organized by the Thames Art Gallery from 2006 to 2008, his work, along with that of Ed Pien and Balint Zsako, has been seen throughout Canada. More recently, he was invited by Pierre-François Ouellette art contemporain to take part in Frontières fluides, devoted to contemporary watercolour. His work is regularly shown at the Headbones Gallery in Toronto and Usine 106U in Montreal. He has received grants from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (2000 and 2002) and his works are part of several private Canadian and European collections as well as public collections (Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Bibliothèque nationale du Québec, Canadian Art Bank, Edmonton Art Gallery, and University of New Brunswick).