Masquerade
Acts of defiance
WHAT
Exhibition Dates:
August 1- August 30, 2026
WHERE
Conseil Des Arts De Montréal
1210 rue Sherbrooke Est,
Montreal, QC, H2L 1L9
WHEN
Opening Night / Vernissage:
August 7, 2026
6:30PM - 9:30 PM
About:
Masquerade: Acts of Defiance is a duo exhibition presenting new works by Lavi Picu and Lilian Cuer, exploring how contemporary society conceals urgent realities behind masks of normalcy. The exhibition investigates the invisible, systemic, and ecological forces shaping human experience and the natural world, creating a dialogue between internal and external forms of vulnerability.
Meet Lavi
Lavi’s practice transforms the body into a site of testimony. Her works investigate internal landscapes shaped by invisible illness, neurological disturbance, and chronic inflammation associated with Lyme disease and Lupus. Through large-scale UV-reactive paintings and ink-based works, she translates internal physiological sensations—dizziness, neurological fragmentation, and internal pressure—into complex visual forms.
These works expand her ongoing UV series, introducing ink washes and new techniques to explore fluidity, saturation, and the organic complexity of internal systems. Her visual language draws from scientific imagery of bacteria and co-infections as well as lived experience, combining anatomical abstraction and organic patterns to convey experiences invisible to the outside world.
Her perspective moves from the inside toward the outside, making visible the hidden realities of the body and challenging social invisibility.
Meet Lilian
Lilian Cuer’s practice interrogates humanity’s relationship with the non-human, envisioning a utopian animist framework in which human, animal, and plant interiorities coexist ethically. Through sculpture, mixed media, and textile interventions, Cuer explores the continuity of life, metamorphosis, and the fusion of multiple species within a single figure, often using anthropomorphic masks to reveal invisible emotional and ecological realities.
Cuer’s perspective moves from the outside toward the inside, illustrating how environmental conditions and ecological disruption penetrate human life, shaping our bodies and collective future. His practice integrates organic and synthetic materials with industrial and artisanal techniques, creating strong textural contrasts and layered narratives.
Original Art Giveaway
Celebrate the exhibition with a chance to win one of two original signed artworks,
one by each exhibiting artist.
How to Enter The Giveaway
Follow both Instagram accounts of the artists.
Attend the vernissage and complete the giveaway form during your visit by providing:
Name
Email address
One entry per visitor.
Opening Night Prize
An exclusive artwork will be awarded during the vernissage on August 7 at 9:00 PM.
Guests must be present at the opening night to claim this prize.
Exhibition Finale Prize
A second original artwork will be awarded at the conclusion of the exhibition, with the winner announced on social media, (Facebook and Instagram) on September 1, 2026.
Participants will also receive occasional updates about future exhibitions, new works, and upcoming events.
Opening Night Prize:
Artwork by Lilian Cuer
Charaxe Delphis Sapiens
Aluminium sculpture
12” x 11” x 0.125”
(Authenticity Certificate provided)
Exhibition Finale Prize: Artwork by Lavi Picu
Under The Blue
Mixed Media on canvas
40” x 30”
(Authenticity Certificate provided)
Exhibition Giveaway
Enter your name and email for a chance to take home one of two original signed artworks.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Echoes of creation, captured along the way and pieces of the journey, shared in real time.
