If you’re looking for programming that features contemporary art as well as contemporary art histories, the 2-22 building is where it’s at. In the last few years both VOX and Artexte have mined the past using a variety of strategies. The impulse to not only represent the here and now, but also reflexively examine relatively recent histories is important and engaging. This work is normally left to museums or university galleries, so it’s refreshing to see small-scale institutions take on this modus operandi in their own niche ways. 
Jason Simon
Functioning primarily as an art library, Artexte attracts many exhibitions based on research and archives. Changeover by Jason Simon explores the historical relationship and dissemination of film and video work made within the context of contemporary art in the 1970s and 80s. His work is not necessarily easy to enter – I found, for both his shows, that it helped to have the invigilator give me some background – but once you get the gist and begin to dig-in some compelling stories are revealed.
Upstairs at VOX, Jean-Marie Delavalle’s exhibition is one of a series of retrospectives of senior artists (including Babette Mangolte, Irene F. Whittome, and Raymond Gervais) that the gallery has produced since moving into its current location. I was, regretfully, not familiar with Delavalle’s practice prior to my visit, so it was intriguing to see his rarely viewed early conceptual work and learn about his role in the Quebec art community in the late 1960s and 70s. The work is forty years old, but looking at it through contemporary eyes, the exhibition appears fresh and connections can be made to younger artists today. At the museum level here in Montreal, we are not often treated to retrospectives of senior artists (particularly women), so I appreciate the gallery’s role taking this on in a gender balanced way.
Artexte: http://artexte.ca/
Jason Simon continues until February 28.
VOX: http://www.centrevox.ca/en/
Jean-Marie Delavalle continues until February 21.
Susannah Wesley is an artist and curator living in Montreal. She has been a member of the collaborative duo Leisure since 2004 and from 1997-2000 was part of the notorious British art collective the Leeds13. Formerly Director at Battat Contemporary in Montreal, she holds an MFA from the Glasgow School of Art and an MA in Art History from Concordia University. She is Akimblog's Montreal correspondent and can be followed @susannahwesley1 on Twitter.
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Jason Simon at Artexte | Jean-Marie Delavalle at VOX
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