Gilles Mihalcean
Monument à la Pointe
2001
Presentation of the artwork
This geometric composition is a tribute to the history of Pointe-Saint-Charles. Sensitive to an aesthetic of juxtaposition, Mihalcean offers a metaphor for the neighbourhood. The lowest part of the triangular prism, made of green-coloured concrete, refers to the historical importance of Irish immigrants to this area. The central section, made of red brick, reflects the working-class housing in the neighbourhood. The third part, topped with three chimneys, underlines the industrial past of the sector. The pillars that support the structure are reminiscent of the past presence of marshes on its banks and provide the artwork with a sense of fragility.In this 14-metre-high commemorative artwork, the evolution of Pointe-Saint-Charles takes the form of a sedimentation of bygone times. Installed in a traffic circle, Monument à la Pointe is seen from a distance and marks the border between the space devoted to road transport and the residential space.
Associated events
The commission for this artwork, awarded through a competition, was the first for the Pointe-Saint-Charles neighbourhood after the adoption, in 1989, of a public art action plan by the Ville de Montréal. It was integrated with a refurbishment project for the sector that, among other things, resulted in the creation of a park and transformation of the former Sherwin-Williams plant into social housing. 
Crédit photo: Guy L'Heureux, 2015
Gilles Mihalcean
Since 1969, Montréal-born Gilles Mihalcean has been exploring the poetic value of materials, raw or ready-made, in a way that creates a metaphor, a story born in the viewer’s imagination and inscribed in time. This self-taught sculptor, whose work contributed to the revival of sculpture in the 1970s, had a retrospective exhibition at the Musée d’art contemporain in 1995.
Awards and honours
- prix Paul-Émile-Borduas, 2011
- bourse de carrière Jean-Paul-Riopelle, 2005
- prix Victor-Martin-Lynch-Staunton, Conseil des arts du Canada, 1988
- prix des Concours artistiques du Québec, 1969
Presentation of the artwork
This geometric composition is a tribute to the history of Pointe-Saint-Charles. Sensitive to an aesthetic of juxtaposition, Mihalcean offers a metaphor for the neighbourhood. The lowest part of the triangular prism, made of green-coloured concrete, refers to the historical importance of Irish immigrants to this area. The central section, made of red brick, reflects the working-class housing in the neighbourhood. The third part, topped with three chimneys, underlines the industrial past of the sector. The pillars that support the structure are reminiscent of the past presence of marshes on its banks and provide the artwork with a sense of fragility.In this 14-metre-high commemorative artwork, the evolution of Pointe-Saint-Charles takes the form of a sedimentation of bygone times. Installed in a traffic circle, Monument à la Pointe is seen from a distance and marks the border between the space devoted to road transport and the residential space.
Associated events
The commission for this artwork, awarded through a competition, was the first for the Pointe-Saint-Charles neighbourhood after the adoption, in 1989, of a public art action plan by the Ville de Montréal. It was integrated with a refurbishment project for the sector that, among other things, resulted in the creation of a park and transformation of the former Sherwin-Williams plant into social housing.
Gilles Mihalcean
Since 1969, Montréal-born Gilles Mihalcean has been exploring the poetic value of materials, raw or ready-made, in a way that creates a metaphor, a story born in the viewer’s imagination and inscribed in time. This self-taught sculptor, whose work contributed to the revival of sculpture in the 1970s, had a retrospective exhibition at the Musée d’art contemporain in 1995.
Awards and honours
- prix Paul-Émile-Borduas, 2011
- bourse de carrière Jean-Paul-Riopelle, 2005
- prix Victor-Martin-Lynch-Staunton, Conseil des arts du Canada, 1988
- prix des Concours artistiques du Québec, 1969
