Montreal is a city of Bauhaus, tunnels, and small, grid-like residential streets. And one of our favorite structures is the Habitat 67 apartments, a stack of concrete cubes designed by architect Moshe Safdie for the 1967 World’s Fair held in Montreal. This kind of impossible architecture was likely inspired, in part, by the drawings of M.C. Escher.
Starting Friday, April 10, 2026, the unclassifiable artist of geometric paradoxes and optical illusions will have his own retrospective in downtown Montreal. We were able to see a preview of the M.C. ESCHER exhibition.
Pavements, Metamorphoses, and Mathematical Miracles of Nature
Maurits Cornelis Escher, born in 1898 in the Netherlands, studied architecture before focusing entirely on illustration. His style, almost impossibly geometric, was studied first by mathematicians and later by art critics.
Today, its influence is everywhere: on the covers of alt-rock band albums, in a psychedelic episode of The Simpsons, and in the architecture of certain buildings that—at first glance—make no sense.
The exhibition features 178 of M.C. Escher’s works, ranging from drawings of seashells to kaleidoscopic tilings, all hand-lithographed with mathematical precision and the deconstructive spirit of a Lewis Carroll or a Dr. Seuss.
M.C. Escher’s best-known works are the lithographs of impossible architecture that are still recognizable today. The Penrose staircase, the Necker cube, the Droste effect, the upside-down columns of Belvedere ( 1968). These are optical illusions we all saw as children—in our math workbooks.
We also really love drawings that almost resemble a Disney movie, but always in black and white. Seashells, floating eyes, a big ant, butterflies, and landscapes of Italy, where he lived and traveled extensively.
Our favorite works by Escher are his tessellations (or patterns), which were inspired by the geometric mosaic motifs he discovered at the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. A tessellation is the regular and repeated arrangement of geometric shapes (or animals, birds, fish, human figures) that completely fill the space.
The exhibition—a creation by Arthemisia, Fever, and Exhibition Hub—also features immersive elements in the semi-mathematical, semi-surreal world of M.C. Escher. Mirrors reflecting endless repetitions, optical illusions, and projections. It’s for enthusiasts of architecture, structure, geometric illustration, and for the great dreamers.
Practical Information
Where? 312 Sainte-Catherine Street West (Place des Arts)
When? Starting April 10, 2026
How? For more information and to purchase tickets, click here
Adult ticket $30 CAD
Child ticket $20 CAD
Senior/Student/Youth ticket: $26 CAD
Family ticket $27 CAD/person
