A poet of sound and image, Albanian artist Anri Sala has been a standout in major international exhibitions in recent years. Best known for his video installations, Sala is represented at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal with a dozen recent works that also include photographs, a sculpture and a new on-site installation. Part of the last generation of artists to emerge under Albania’s former communist regime, Sala, in his videos, shows great sensitivity to the effects of location on sound and to the relation between art and utopian ideas. Creating an immersive environment, the Montreal show includes the 10 snare drums of Doldrums as well as Long Sorrow, in which jazz musician Jemeel Moondoc improvises on saxophone while hanging out a window. Le Clash, a new work, reinterprets “Should I Stay or Should I Go” by the Clash on a barrel organ and a music box, while the related Score transposes that musical atmosphere into a written score etched on the museum’s walls.

Daniel Young & Christian Giroux Every Building, or Site, That a Building Permit Has Been Issued for a New Building in Toronto in 2006 2008 Film still Courtesy the artists and Diaz Contemporary

In a concurrent exhibition at the gallery, the Toronto-based artists Christian Giroux and Daniel Young offer recapitulations of North American modernism with a new modular sculpture, which was inspired by the work of minimalist sculptor Tony Smith, and with their 14-minute film Every Building, or Site, That a Building Permit Has Been Issued for a New Building in Toronto in 2006. (185 Ste-Catherine O, Montreal QC)

Anri Sala Answer Me 2008 Film still Courtesy Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal