A QUIET TRUTH: Renée Condo and Caroline Monnet
Sidecar in collaboration with Blouin Division (Montreal, Toronto) presents A Quiet Truth—a two-person exhibition featuring the works of Caroline Monnet and Renée Condo. This marks the first time these artists will engage in a direct dialogue, offering a unique opportunity to experience their artistic practices side by side.
A Quiet Truth bridges two distinct Indigenous forms of cultural expression, each challenging colonial narratives while celebrating the resilience and beauty of their communities. A powerful energy flows through the exhibition, driven by vivid colors, diverse materials, and unique motifs.
Caroline Monnet’s sculptural and embroidered pieces tell us about the complexities of Indigenous lived realities and ever-changing cultural narratives. Using housing construction materials like air barrier membrane, roof underlayment and Styrofoam, she reimagines traditional forms of knowledge and Indigenous motifs to explore the connection between language reclamation, land, and Indigenous identities. Navigating the intersection of past and present through the idea of intergenerational transmission, Monnet’s work reflects how these industrial materials uncover the subtle, but yet persistent truths regarding issues such as the preservation of oral histories and the lack of housing for First Nations.
Renée Condo’s large-scale beaded compositions for A Quiet Truth explore the interconnected realms of physics, metaphysics, and Mi’gmaq worldviews. Each wooden bead serves as a marker of relationship—between materials, ideas, and the unseen forces that shape our existence—bringing forward concepts of harmony, reciprocity, and entanglement. Condo’s work carries the quiet yet enduring presence of Indigenous knowledge, embodying spirit, energy, and love. In this sense, A Quiet Truth reflects Condo’s ability to translate invisible forces—whether quantum or spiritual—into tangible, visual forms that speak of the profound emotions and relations waiting to be felt and understood.
A Quiet Truth celebrates the strength and innovation of these two artists while also inviting reflection on the enduring presence of Indigenous voices in the contemporary world.
Caroline Monnet is an Anishinaabe/French multidisciplinary artist from Outaouais, Quebec. Monnet has exhibited internationally at major venues such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, Toronto Biennial of Art, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Her work is held in prominent collections, including UNESCO, National Gallery of Canada, Museum of Fine Arts Montreal, and Art Gallery of Ontario. Her films have been showcased at festivals such as Sundance, Berlinale and TIFF and she has received numerous accolades, including the 2020 Pierre-Ayot Award and the Sundance Institute’s Merata Mita Fellowship. The artist will be included in An Indigenous Present, a group exhibition co-curated by artist Jeffrey Gibson (member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and of Cherokee descent) and independent curator Jenelle Porter, at ICA Boston, which opens in October 2025.
Renée Condo is a contemporary visual artist of Mi’gmaw First Nation heritage from Gesgapegiag. Condo holds a BFA and MFA from Concordia University and has received various scholarships and grants, including those from the Canada Council for the Arts. Her exhibitions include the Art Basel Fair, the Armory Show (Focus Section) and the Contemporary Native Art Biennial and solo shows like Shifting Perspectives (2023) and Pemitg - Heart Knowledge (2021). Condo’s work is represented in private collections such as the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Royal Bank of Canada and the TD Bank.