Jean Gaudreau (born May 27, 1964) is a Canadian artist, painter, and engraver.

Jean Gaudreau
Jean Gaudreau in his studio in 2015
Born (1964-05-27) May 27, 1964 (age 59)
EducationGeorges Gogardi
Michel Labbé
Alma materLaval University
Known forPainter
MovementAutomatisme
Abstract Art
AwardsLe Moulin à images
Cirque du Soleil

Biography edit

Gaudreau was born in Quebec City. At 10 years old, he learned drawing at the Séminaire des Pères Maristes[1] in Quebec City. As a child, he learned the "old fashioned way," the Mezzotint, as well as the importance of geometry in drawing.

When he was twelve years old, Gaudreau painted genre art scenes in Quebec's old port.[2] His first subjects were the stevedores, the boats, the docks, the river, and in the background, the buildings on Quebec City's headland, the cap Diamant. He outlined, in the manner of the countryside landscape painters,[3] the contours of the old buildings.

As a teenager, Gaudreau regularly visited Jean Paul Lemieux. The older man was always ready to underline to Gaudreau the importance of drawing in the practice of painting. At 17 years old, Jean Gaudreau presented his first solo exhibition in an art gallery.[4]

Gaudreau later started experimenting with copper with the help of remains from the South turret of the Château Frontenac.[5][6][7][8][9][10]

Reactions edit

According to Robert Bernier, "Chance encounters and the very spirit of his artistic production have led Gaudreau to associate, for many years, dance and performance art to his painting. Both by the themes he tackles and in the conception of the many events he put together, the body has become a central element of his work."[11]

Nathalie Côté has said "he is without a doubt, a singular figure of the Quebec visual arts world."[12]

Juliette Laurent said, "The brush strokes recall Riopelle, Pollock, Stella, Klimt and Ferron; some traces evoke the Automatists and the flights dear to the lyrical abstracts,""Admittedly, the artist avails himself of a postmodernism that tends to integrate all streams as bare witnesses the presence of figurative and non-figurative elements, women with lascivious faces, sinuous lines and the juxtaposition of vibrant hues and gilding. The predominant gestural as well as the intentionally less than finished and more primary aspect of his painting constitute trials at forging a personal style."[13]

In 2008, Gaudreau was presented as one of the figures of Quebec's contemporary art scene by Robert Lepage during the celebrations for the 400th anniversary of the foundation of Quebec City. In his animated film Le Moulin à images,[14][15] Lepage projected images of artworks by Gaudreau next to works from Jean Paul Lemieux, Martin Bureau, Jean-Paul Riopelle, and Alfred Pellan, among others, on grain silos located in Anse au Foulon in Quebec City's old port.

Video documents edit

  • Belco, J: Jean Gaudreau – Environnement de création, 2010
  • Lacerte, Louis: Jean Gaudreau – Moulin à images, 2014
  • Roberge, Josiane: Balise du Temps, 2015
  • Roberge, Josiane: Court métrage – Tambours flambeaux, 201

Private and public collections edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Séminaire des Pères MaristesArchived September 26, 2013, at the Wayback Machine 
  2. ^ Jean Gaudreau, interview with Michaël Lachance, 2016
  3. ^ Domon, Gérard; Ruiz, Julie (2015). Paysages ruraux (in French). Montréal, Québec: PUM. ISBN 9782760634817.
  4. ^ Robert, Guy (1990). Jean Gaudreau : expressivité dans un nouveau monde (in French). Québec: Éditions Malibu. p. 9.
  5. ^ Champagne, Marjorie (July 2, 2014). "Jean Gaudreau : confidences en atelier". lafabriqueculturelle.tv. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  6. ^ Goutier, Claire (September 16, 2016). "L'ancienne toiture du Château Frontenac comme offrande artistique". Bazzart.
  7. ^ Genest, Catherine (June 19, 2014). "ERVUIC : La deuxième vie du cuivre verdi". Voir.
  8. ^ Martin, Johanne (February 9, 2016). "Jean Gaudreau, artiste multidisciplinaire". Prestige. ISSN 1205-6707.
  9. ^ Desloges, Josiane (June 27, 2014). "Jean Gaudreau : de pigments et de cuivre". Le Soleil.
  10. ^ Nadeau, Pierre O. (September 22, 2012). "Le cuivre du Château Frontenac sur les toiles de Jean Gaudreau". Journal de Québec.
  11. ^ Bernier, Robert (October 2002). La peinture au Québec depuis les années 1960 (in French). Montréal, Québec: Les éditions de l'homme. pp. 218–219. ISBN 2-7619-1566-6.
  12. ^ Côté, Nathalie (September 19, 1998). "La Transcendance des taches : Coup de fougue". Voir (in French).
  13. ^ Laurent, Juliette (1995). "Jean Gaudreau ou la fougue de peindre" (PDF). Vie des Arts. 39. 161: 52–53 – via érudit.
  14. ^ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Arts- (June 19, 2018). "Le Moulin à images : un rendez-vous spectaculaire avec l'histoire". Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  15. ^ Perron, Alexandra (September 9, 2009). "La couleur de Jean Gaudreau sur les silos de la Bunge". La Presse.

Bibliography edit

  • Robert, Guy (1990). Jean Gaudreau : expressivité dans un nouveau monde. Catalogue on the 1979–1990 retrospective (in French). Quebec: Éditions Malibu. p. 9.
  • Bélanger, Jacques (2009). Le pied au plancher / Feet on the Floor (in French and English). Translated by Ratcliffe, Abigail. Photography, Simon Clark. Quebec: MC Communications. ISBN 978-2-9806728-1-1.
  • Zÿlbeck (2015). Jean Gaudreau, au coeur de nos vies (in French and English). Translated by Millar, Christine. MC Communications.
  • Motulsky-Falardeau, Alexandre (2014). Jean Gaudreau, ERVIUC (in French and English). Translated by Ratcliffe, Abigail. MC Communications. ISBN 978-2-9806728-2-8.
  • Côté, Nathalie (2007). Jean Gaudreau : cycle de vie / Life Cycle. Cycle de vie, Parcours 1995–2007 (in French and English). Translated by Hamilton, Grant. Photography, Pierre Soulard. Quebec.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Bernier, Robert (2002). La peinture au Québec depuis les années 1960. Montreal: Les éditions de l'homme. pp. 218–219. ISBN 2-7619-1566-6.