Corridors suffused in light, petal pink portals, a grid with colours shining through – are the visions encountered in Pierre Dorion’s CDMX at Blouin Division Gallery, Toronto. The Canadian painter’s works are in conversation with the works of Mexican architects such as Luis Barragán and Ricardo Legorreta. CDMX concentrates on the richness of colour, clean lines, and transforming modern architecture into a canvas.
Exhibition view of Pierre Dorion, CDMX at Blouin Division Gallery
Depicted on a landing between white stairwells, there is a magenta door. The pink is saturated so deeply that the surrounding walls take on a pale cotton candy hue. Within the doorway is a coral glow, a source of brightness and warmth forming the focal point of the painting. Dorion’s Casa Gilardi IX (2024) maintains the meditative yet stimulating quality of Barragán’s use of space and colour. The vision of the door is a fitting way to commence CDMX, entering a space of architecture, painting, and sculptural uses of light and colour.
Pierre Dorion, Casa Gilardi IX, 2024, oil on linen canvas, 33 x 25 in.
Vivid colours are constant throughout the exhibition, such as the amber and saffron hues suffusing the light in the Casa Gilardi series. Dorion manages to create an otherworldly light emanating behind columns and upon doorways.
Pierre Dorion, Casa Gilardi XIII, 2025, oil on linen, 60 x 45 in.
Pierre Dorion, Casa Gilardi X, 2024 and Casa Gilardi X-b, 2025, both oil on linen canvas, 60 x 45 in.
In contrast, several of Dorion’s works contain vibrant blues: sapphire, azure, cornflower, and cobalt. The various shades come together in layers, showcasing the light falling into space. Within the details of Camino Real VIII, the layers are especially apparent, recreating the shifting movement of sunlight from a window. Dorion’s Camino Real series depict the elements of the architectural and interior design of Legorreta’s Camino Real Hotel in Mexico City.
Pierre Dorion, Camino Real VIII, 2025, oil on linen, 84 x 60 in.
In Camino Real V (2024) there is a grid rendered with a sense of perspective. The blue or yellow background radiating through the grid creates an especially captivating visuality. One might expect that the scarlet or carmine will dominate, but the structure of the grid holds all the colours – creating a conversation between light and architecture.
Pierre Dorion, Camino Real V, 2024, oil on linen, 72 x 54 in.
In a smaller gallery there are three works balanced between warm and cool tones, Pedregal (2024), Pedregal II (2024), and Casa Barragan III (2024). In Pedregal, there is a closed door with frosted glass panels. The remaining space includes shallow steps leading away from the door towards a cooler area. There is a soft glow coming from the right, beyond the door and illuminating the partitioned section, presenting two different directions. The gallery also contains two more works with imagery of doorways and staircases, reinforcing that this is a transitional space.
Pierre Dorion, Pedregal, 2024, oil on cotton canvas, 60 x 45 in.
The third gallery contains pieces that contrast the warmth and vibrancy of the other artworks in CDMX. While the Casa Gilardi series contains vivid and bold colours, Bichromes (Grande grille) (2025) and La ferme des frères Thibault (2025) are muted and subtle. The subdued palette of La ferme des frères Thibault captures the isolation of rural winter life. Within the scene there is a farm situated among trees, the crispness of the snow is palpable. Beside the painting there are five small panels, each containing colour samples from the landscape. The adjacent wall holds a large collection of similar panels, like Bichrome. This vision of cool tones is inspired by the Québec landscape.
Pierre Dorion, La ferme des frères Thibault, 2025, oil on linen, 6 elements, 5 (on the left) 10 x 8 in, 1 (on the right) 33 x 22 in.
Dorion’s contemplation of Barragán’s and Legorretta’s oeuvre highlights the fundamental aspects of their architecture: sculptural use of light, space, and vivacity of colour. Dorion also recognizes the value of soft and muted tones, inspired by the landscape around his home in Québec. His use of cropped perspectives of architectural elements gives focus to the minute details that bring life and a dynamic quality to the depicted spaces. The paintings are mysterious – given what is not pictured: where do these doors lead? What lies beyond them? What is being seen? In CDMX Dorion depicts the sights with rapt attention, merging minimalist, abstract, and realistic approaches.
Exhibition view of Pierre Dorion, CDMX at Blouin Division Gallery
Rashana Youtzy
Images are courtesy of Blouin Division Gallery.
*Exhibition information: Pierre Dorion, CDMX , May 8 – June 21, 2025, Blouin Division Gallery, 45 Ernest Avenue, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed – Sat 11am – 6pm.