Keerat Kaur's "Sweet Speech" at Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Places Contemporary Work Among Sikh Art Collection
Keerat Kaur's "Sweet Speech," her inaugural solo exhibition at a Canadian fine arts venue, is currently on display at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA). Curated by Laura Vigo, the showcase combines Kaur's paintings and sculptures with Sikh art from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, featuring works from the Kapany family's 2022 donation. The exhibition's title is inspired by the Sikh principle Mithī Bolī. Kaur has also written all the wall texts, amplifying her interpretive presence. Notable pieces include the quadriptych Nīlā's Birth Story and the large acrylic self-portrait Origin Story (2020). A Punjabi singing recording accompanies the exhibition, which challenges the divide between historical and contemporary art while confronting anti-Sikh violence and racism in Canada.
Key facts
- Keerat Kaur's solo exhibition "Sweet Speech" is her first at a Canadian fine arts institution.
- The exhibition is installed on the fourth floor of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts among Sikh artworks from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
- Curator Laura Vigo, the MMFA's curator of Asian arts and archaeology, began working with Kaur in 2024.
- The show's title translates the Sikh tenet Mithī Bolī, described as "being shaped by humility, love and truth."
- The galleries, recently renamed The Arts of One World after Édouard Glissant, were substantially expanded by the Kapany family's 2022 donation of Sikh artworks.
- Kaur authored the wall texts accompanying each work in the exhibition.
- Works include the gouache quadriptych Nīlā's Birth Story, the acrylic self-portrait Origin Story (2020), and the ceramic sculpture Heart Cleanse (2020).
- A recording of Kaur's singing in Punjabi plays throughout the galleries.
Entities
Artists
- Keerat Kaur
- Guru Gobind Singh
- Édouard Glissant
- Laura Vigo
Institutions
- Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
- MMFA
- The Arts of One World
- Kapany family
- Momus
Locations
- Montreal
- Canada
- United Kingdom
Sources
- Momus —