Latitude 53
Do Not Talk To Me.jpg

10 Richard Boulet - Do Not Talk To Me

 
Do Not Talk To Me.jpg

10 richard boulet

Title: Do Not Talk To Me

Dimensions: 36in x 12in

Year of Completion: 2019

Medium: Mixed Media Fibre

Estimated Value: $900

Courtesy of the Artist

Canadian artist Richard Boulet maintains active solo and collaborative drawing and textiles practices in which he explores self and community identity including queer and mental health. Boulet uses quilting, cross-stitching, drawing and assemblage techniques – his labour-intensive working process provides him with an opportunity to contemplate the past and hope for the future using mediums with a strong sense of psychological comfort, self-care and sense of place. 

This mixed media textile collage is comprised of mostly needle felting with the words ‘DO NOT TALK TO ME’ in beads at the top. This work comes out of memories from around the age of 14 when the artist was in the closet and angry at his parents for not making his problems disappear. This time was at the height of fear with no real hope in sight. The figure in the work is smiling – putting on a brave face, while the clothing is delicate and feminine.

Richard Boulet lives and works in Edmonton. He holds a BFA from the University of Manitoba School of Art, Winnipeg, MB, Canada and an MFA from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Boulet has exhibited at Plug In ICA, Winnipeg; Creative Growth, San Francisco; Keyano College Art Gallery, Fort McMurray; Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Alberta College of Art + Design, Calgary; Ace Art Inc., Winnipeg; Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto; and the 2007 Alberta Biennale. Boulet was the subject of an exhibition, Stitched and Drawn, curated by Wayne Baerwaldt and circulated by Alberta College of Art and Design’s Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Ace Art Inc., and the Textile Museum of Canada from 2009 to 2013. His solo show, A Retrospective, opened at the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie in 2016, and in 2017 the solo RAGE HOPE, curated by Dick Averns opened at the Nickle Galleries at the University of Calgary. Boulet has an upcoming collaborative show at McMullen Gallery opening in 2020.