I Had the Same Thought
June 16th - July 23rd, 2023
José Andrés Mora, Chantal Khoury
In I had the same thought, Khoury’s and Mora’s journeys converge to craft a complex tapestry of memories, blurred impressions, and symbols, through the lens of family histories.
In her work, Chantal Khoury mirrors a contemporary approach to traditional painting methods. She deftly unravels the symbolism ingrained in Catholic and Orthodox tropes from her upbringing, establishing a linkage between past and present. Through this unravelling, Khoury aims to reclaim that which was lost, while simultaneously crafting soft yet defying images of longing.
Khoury uses traditional techniques like glazing, sfumato, alla prima, and chiaroscuro, commonly associated with Western European painting. However, other lesser-known painters and histories in non-white countries were also using these techniques to push the boundaries. Her work and research try to build off those global artists who embedded these techniques with personal and subjective meaning. In Two Divine Poses and Two Divine Poses with Bowl we see Aphrodite Anadyomene (or Venus): One of the few figures whose image was unchanged. Her arms raised, wringing out her locks of hair as she was born out of the water in Cyprus. Serpents, fabric and lace emerge and disappear behind the figures. Similarly, In Holy Dancers and Site of Reverence animals and Dapke dancers subtly appear and vanish. In Lambs of God and Mary #8, Khoury explores Catholic and Orthodox iconography, evoking inherited objects from her family’s immigration from Lebanon to New Brunswick in the ’50s.
José Andrés Mora delves into the intricate labyrinth of his own past to digitally fabricate meticulous images that try to reconstruct scenes and impressions from his early memories in Caracas. Through this exploration, Mora seeks to catalyze a look into the convergence of fact and fiction, and the inevitable loss and distortion of the images that live in our memories.
In the Jabillo Tree Series, Guacharaca and Avenida, Mora recreates from memory scenes from his birthplace, Caracas. Although at first glance these works might look like blurred photographs, they are, in fact, digital drawings. Mora composes these images by hand, using a technique similar to digital watercoloring. Starting with a blank canvas, Mora generates colour dots that bleed into each other to form an image. In It’s been weeks, These words don’t come easily, and Te grité estas palabras (I yelled these words at you), Mora explores visibly dislocated, highly emotional passages. The result of this dislocation is a rippling wave of legibility. It signifies a compromise; understanding one part of the writing while the other parts fall apart makes the reading process a constant reconstructive process. In his video installation Con los ojos / With the eyes, Mora tries to mimic eye movements and expressions of a face. The eyes glaze and refocus, dilate and contract, merge and diverge. The abnormal eye movements betray a turmoiled introspection.
The respective journeys of Mora and Khoury come together to form a compelling narrative, crafting a complex tapestry of memory, identity, and personal history. I had the same thought offers an open invitation to journey into the crisscrossing paths of the artists’ past while reflecting on our own. How our earliest memories echo to construct the perception of our present reality. This introspective voyage nudges us to reevaluate our individual and collective experiences, opening a space to understand the complexities of our shared human experience.
Artists in Dialogue: José Andrés Mora and Chantal Khoury, Moderated by Raúl Aguilar
About the artists:
José Andrés Mora (he/him) is a Venezuelan-Canadian artist. Recent and upcoming exhibitions include a solo show at Maison de la Culture NDG (Montréal, 2023), a group show at Latcham Art Centre (Stouffville, 2023) and a solo show at Hamilton Artists Inc (Hamilton, 2025). Mora is the recipient of numerous grants and recognitions. In 2023 his work was acquired by the Canada Council Art Bank. He holds an MFA from the University of Guelph (2020) and a BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Arts and Design (2012).
Chantal Khoury is of Lebanese descent and was born on the unceded territory of the Wolastoqiyik and Mi’kmaq First Nations/New Brunswick. She is based in Tkaronto/Toronto after living thirteen years in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal. Khoury has received numerous grants and exhibits widely across North America including recent solo shows at Birth Contemporary (Toronto, 2021) and Michael Gibson Gallery (London, ON, 2022). Collections include the Royal Bank of Canada, the Art Gallery of Guelph, and the University of New Brunswick. She holds an MFA from the University of Guelph (2021) and a BFA with Distinction from Concordia University (2012).
José Andrés Mora would like to acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts in the creation of his work for this exhibition.
José Andrés Mora would like to acknowledge the support of the Ontario Arts Council in the creation of his work for this exhibition.
