When you first enter Zeke's Art Gallery, the home-style décor and mismatched couches lead you to wonder, "Did I just walk into someone's apartment?" Once you hear Zeke's welcoming "Howdy!" you look around and realize that this gallery is unlike any other you have seen. Chris Hand, otherwise known as Zeke Zzyzuss, owns the only art gallery in Montreal where the mandate is a first-solo exhibition; he gives centre stage to young, emerging artists who have never before done a solo show. The place is in a unique world, much like Zeke, the owner and curator of the gallery.
Zeke is probably one of the coolest and most original 42-year-olds in the city. As such, it only makes sense that someone this unusual would have an art gallery like no other. His originality is perhaps best exemplified by the story of how he acquired the bizarre pseudonym, Zeke Zzyzuss.
As a teenager, Hand made it his business to place himself at the bitter end in the telephone directory. "Basically, at the age of 18, I was determined to have the absolute last name in the phone book," he said. Thus, when it came time to name his gallery, "Zeke Zzyzuss" was his first and only choice.
Zzyzuss' background is actually in the record industry. This changed years ago when he remarked that one of his friends, an artist named Bertrand Lavoie, should show his work for public viewing. "I found out one of my good friends was a painter. I saw his stuff, and I was like, 'Wow, this is really cool.' So I told him we should do a show."
He had rented out an office on Boulevard St-Laurent (today known as Zeke's Art Gallery), and the two of them held an art exhibit. Henceforth, further up-and-coming artists have flocked to Zeke for a chance to show their work. And so the snowball effect had begun.
Some may suggest that because Zzyzuss does not have a background in visual art, he cannot properly assess talent. On the contrary, he says. He believes that he is able to bring an unclouded perspective to the Montreal art community: "I just try to apply my knowledge in music to art." This unique standpoint allows him to bring art back to its basics, and even relate it to other forms of expression, including his first love: baseball.
In fact, Zzyzuss has an almost unhealthy obsession with the Montreal Expos baseball club-he has an entire case of Expos hot sauce in his backroom. His love for the game stems from growing up in New York. "When I was six, living in New York, my father was a hardcore baseball fan," he said. "In 1969, his team, the New York Mets, won the World Series, and it just kind of took off from there."
He caught baseball fever, and he knew from then on he would be a die-hard fan. He even has meetings at the gallery to support Encore Baseball Montreal, an organization set up to keep the Expos franchise in Montreal.
Needless to say, there is always something going on at Zeke's. If it's not an art show, it's a poetry slam or a band performance. No matter what, Zzyzuss applies the same philosophy to all acts at his gallery, emphasizing unproven young talent.
Some of the acts on tap for the weeks to come reveal the original scene at Zeke's. On September 8, banjo-pickin' Old Man Luedecke will be enthralling crowds with his original folk style from Halifax. Two days later, a "Vernissage for Metaphysical Boarding" by Chris Dyer, a promising new artist whose canvases are broken skateboards, will be featured. His style is a cross between cartoonist Robert Krum of the Keep on Truck'n series, and Ed Roth, a famous tattoo artist. Found your niche yet? Get out of your pad and into Zeke's and discover something new.
For any of these events, or extra information, stop by 3955 Boulevard St-Laurent and ask to speak to Zeke. Also check out his Web site at www.zekesgallery.blogspot.com.
