Art Thou the Accuser of Thy Brethren or Art Thou the Inspiration of Their Heart: Richard Boulet

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Blaine Campbell

Richard Boulet, “Boulet Mothers Wild Garden,” 2018

(courtesy of the Gallery)

Art Thou the Accuser of Thy Brethren or Art Thou the Inspiration of Their Heart casts a spotlight on the extraordinary studio practice of Edmonton-based artist Richard Boulet and introduces selected collaborations with Marilyn Olson, Boulet’s immediate family members and anonymous craft makers. Boulet’s visually arresting fine craft textile works feature a characteristic mix of figurative and abstract elements including text in various forms from traditional cross-stitching to assemblage techniques and filaments of colour embedded in quilting. The 35 works in the exhibition are also a testament to Boulet’s ability to acknowledge his lived experience with mental challenges. His experience is one that is sustained and has led him to pay close attention to building a base of knowledge that remains open to addressing a wide range of issues associated with social justice, well being, the omnipresence of poetic inspiration, and the need for psychic and physical space to accommodate an emerging queer identity. The characteristic markers of his investigation are complex and generally identified with autobiographical sources and the formal consequences of an evolving definition and making of art.

Our present moment of public acceptance and sharing of mental challenges and paths to wellness stories is unprecedented. Richard Boulet’s timely exhibition and the accompanying publication offer new perspectives on intersectional mental illness/health aesthetics. Boulet introduces fine craft textile art as part of an inclusive wellness program for community building. In addition, he extends the discourse around fine craft materiality via his exploration of more diverse elements including medical terminology (as either oblique/direct references to his lived experience with mental challenges), design strategies, performative sound and concrete poetry.

Boulet’s journey is one of ground-breaking acceptance in mainstream visual art amidst enormous mental health challenges and societal prejudice around mental illness.