Canadian photographer’s street scenes at Casa Calavera

Maxime Valois, “El Topo,” presents black-and-white photography with texture and contrast, capturing a hardscrabble Montreal suburb in a documentary style.

The Canadian artist’s work will be on view at Casa Calavera, which is holding a reception tonight from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. in the Miraflores gallery.

The exhibition, “Ashtray,” includes more than 20 images and a video presentation.

Emilio Suárez Trejo and Karla Daniela Flores, gallery coordinators, explain that a few months ago they were in Montreal when they met Valois, who is also an instructor at the University of Quebec.

The artist was unable to accept a residency in Merida, but sent the images to display here.

The images are not manipulated on a computer. Maxime works with analog photography, so with a single “click,” he captures the image not knowing how it will come out when the film is developed.

Perhaps for this reason the images he captures are full of sensitivity and reflect the daily events of the rough-and-tumble neighborhood of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.

Entrance is free. To visit at a later date, the gallery is open by appointment on the Casa Calavera Facebook page.