SOLO SHOW: Our A(r)mour w/ Isabel Yong

“Our A(r)mour”

Exhibition Dates: December 2nd 2024 – January 6th 2025

Vernissage and Artist Talk: December 5th, 2025 6 to 9pm

Location: 1395 René-Lévesque Blvd W, Montreal, Quebec H3G 2M5

This exhibition emphasizes two major points: (1) One can only meet another as much as they

meet themselves and (2) the integration of the shadow ourselves into who we are is a deeply

painful experience that is an individual journey but one that we must do together. The pain to be

vulnerable with others is just the pain to be vulnerable with the self, however it is in being

courageous that we find ourselves unconditionally and wholly loved by others and ourselves, as

well as freedom and belonging

Featured Artist: Isabel Yong

Isabel Yong is a 22 year old student currently residing in Montreal, Canada. As a child of constant change, her exploration of her cultural/ethnic ambiguity and queerness has empowered her to connect with the people around her in a dynamic and multifaceted way, and find community in shared passion and kindness. Themes of impermanence, identity, and belonging, have consistently underlined her creative work, be it her oil paintings or her clinical work.

Isabel’s oil paintings delve into the human experience, often exploring the complexities of vulnerability and self-love. With a background in Clinical Psychology, she captures the modern struggle to open emotionally, often unmodeled in our internal and external environments, or guarded by dissociative mechanisms.

Isabel also frequently addresses the role of interpersonal relationships, where romantic or sexual connections often prod at wounds of vulnerability and attachment history. Her art reflects on how a lack of self-compassion leads to detachment from others, as well as emphasizing the distinction between genuine internal connection and ego. Much of her work captures experience and temporality through a queer and POC perspective.

Isabel’s current direction is best seen in her latest work, where she takes an illusionistic approach embodying the visceral nature of topics of grief, internal conflict, and love. Through humor, idioms, and stillness, Isabel connects to the audience by sitting with them in the safe space of her visual world, and inviting viewers to embark on a journey of belonging, both among others and within oneself.

Vernissage and Artist Talk

Join us for the exhibition’s vernissage on December 5  from 6 to 9, featuring an engaging artist talk led by Abby Brock. Isabel will discuss her creative processes and the concepts driving her artist practice. This event is free and open to all.

The V.A.V. (Visual Arts Visuels) Gallery is a student-run exhibition space, supported by a Concordia Fine Arts Undergraduate student fee levy. Concordia students of all identities and levels of experience are encouraged to participate. Concordia University is located on Kanien’kehá:ka traditional territory. 

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