Automatist, Pierre Gauvreau was part of a circle of young artists from various discipines who gravitated around painter Paul Emile-Borduas in 1940’s Montreal. Together the Automatists revolutionized painting in restrictive Quebec of the Duplessis years. Inspired by the Surrealists, they found freedom of expression in abstraction pursued through automatism: an instinctive, unpremeditated form of creating art.
Their manifesto Refus global (1948) is widely recognized as a crucial expression of Quebec modernism and the unrest that would eventually lead to the so-called ‘Quiet Revolution.’ Pierre Gauvreau was very active in the production of the manifesto and eventually in defending it publicly against attacks by the clergy and newspaper columnists.
-Curator Ray Ellenwood, on the Automatists
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
Pierre Gauvreau died on April 7th, 2011, and would have just passed his 90th birthday when Art = Libération was slated to open. Pierre’s wife Janine Carreau devoloped her own career as a painter and photographer while combining energies with her husband for more than 35 years. For Pierre Gauvreau and Janine Carreau, the Automatist style has produced an aesthetic of exuberance – use of vibrant colours and textures demonstrate their celebration of life and of freedom from the strict cleric culture of mid-century Quebec.
Hosted by Baron Gallery in Gastown, the exhibition features a selection of 47 works curated by long time friend to the artists, Ray Ellenwood, author of Egregore: A History of the Montréal Automatist Movement, and The Automatiste Revolution.
Opening night: 7pm Thursday October 13, 2011 Refreshments will be served
Janine Carreau and Ray Ellenwood will be present.