Jean-Paul Mousseau
Encyclopedia
Jean-Paul Mousseau was a Quebec
artist
He was a student of Paul-Émile Borduas
and a member of the Automatist
school. He was a founding member of the Association on Non-Figurative Artists of Montreal. He designed murals for the Hydro-Québec
building and the Peel Metro in Montreal.
At the end of the 1950s he was one of the first Quebec artists who saw the necessity of integrating art into the urban environment. His most important contributions are original murals and other collaborations with architects.
. He clashed with the metro's first art director, Robert Lapalme, who insisted that metro art be figurative, represent Montreal history, and be sponsored. Mousseau wished to open the doors to non-figurative art integrated into the architecture and accounted for in the construction budget. Lapalme held sway over the initial network, except for two works (Mousseau's circles at Peel station and Marcelle Ferron
's stained glass at Champ-de-Mars).
Mousseau took over as art director after LaPalme, and his influence marked all the rest of the network, which includes works of non-figurative art integrated with the architecture. Most of the artwork was planned in accordance with the architects, and many were by the architects themselves. Works by Mousseau in the metro include the mural Opus 74 at Viau station, two murals at Honoré-Beaugrand, and a mural at Square-Victoria.
He also created some sculptural lighting elements in the concert-hall of the Orford Arts Centre, in collaboration with the designer Léonard Garneau, who was in charge of the interior design of the centre.
His work is integral to Montreal's airport and several of its skyscrapers. A major work is a mural (Lumière et mouvement) in the Hydro-Québec
building in Montreal.
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
He was a student of Paul-Émile Borduas
Paul-Émile Borduas
Paul-Émile Borduas was a Canadian painter known for his abstract paintings. He was also an activist for the separation of church and state, especially for art, in Quebec.- Biography :...
and a member of the Automatist
Les Automatistes
Les Automatistes were a group of Québécois artistic dissidents from Montreal, Quebec. The movement was founded in the early 1940s by painter Paul-Émile Borduas. "Les Automatistes" were so called because they were influenced by Surrealism and its theory of automatism...
school. He was a founding member of the Association on Non-Figurative Artists of Montreal. He designed murals for the Hydro-Québec
Hydro-Québec
Hydro-Québec is a government-owned public utility established in 1944 by the Government of Quebec. Based in Montreal, the company is in charge of the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity across Quebec....
building and the Peel Metro in Montreal.
Early career
Jean-Paul Mousseau studied painting at the age of thirteen while at the College Notre-Dame in Montreal under Frère Jérome (1940–45). He became a student of Paul-Emile Borduas at the Ecole du Meuble, Montreal. He was a member of the group of painters known as the Automatistes. In 1948, he was one of the signatories of the Refus global manifesto.At the end of the 1950s he was one of the first Quebec artists who saw the necessity of integrating art into the urban environment. His most important contributions are original murals and other collaborations with architects.
Montreal metro
Jean-Paul Mousseau did artwork in the Montreal metroMontreal Metro
The Montreal Metro is a rubber-tired metro system, and the main form of public transportation underground in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada....
. He clashed with the metro's first art director, Robert Lapalme, who insisted that metro art be figurative, represent Montreal history, and be sponsored. Mousseau wished to open the doors to non-figurative art integrated into the architecture and accounted for in the construction budget. Lapalme held sway over the initial network, except for two works (Mousseau's circles at Peel station and Marcelle Ferron
Marcelle Ferron
Marcelle Ferron, , a Québécoise painter and stained glass artist, was a major figure in the Quebec contemporary art scene....
's stained glass at Champ-de-Mars).
Mousseau took over as art director after LaPalme, and his influence marked all the rest of the network, which includes works of non-figurative art integrated with the architecture. Most of the artwork was planned in accordance with the architects, and many were by the architects themselves. Works by Mousseau in the metro include the mural Opus 74 at Viau station, two murals at Honoré-Beaugrand, and a mural at Square-Victoria.
He also created some sculptural lighting elements in the concert-hall of the Orford Arts Centre, in collaboration with the designer Léonard Garneau, who was in charge of the interior design of the centre.
His work is integral to Montreal's airport and several of its skyscrapers. A major work is a mural (Lumière et mouvement) in the Hydro-Québec
Hydro-Québec
Hydro-Québec is a government-owned public utility established in 1944 by the Government of Quebec. Based in Montreal, the company is in charge of the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity across Quebec....
building in Montreal.
Exhibitions
- 1946: Montreal Museum of Fine Art
- 1947: Automatistes, Galerie du Luxembourg, Paris; Exhibited with Riopelle in Montreal
- 1952: Automatistes, Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal; Biennial Exhibition of Canadian Painting, National Art Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
- 1953: Automatistes, Place Des Arts, Montreal
- 1954: "La matière Chante", Galerie Antoine, Montreal Biennial Exhibition of Canadian painting, National Art Gallery, Ottawa; "Young painters of Canada" in Belgium
- 1955: Winnipeg Art Show (first prize); "Espace 55", Museum of Fine Art, Montreal; Galerie l'Actuelle, Montreal
- 1956: Galerie l'Actuelle, with Riopelle, Borduas, Sam Francis, McEwen, and others
- 1957: Exhibition of the Association of Non-Figuratives Artists of Montreal
- 1959: The Association of Non Figurative Artists, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
- 1960: "L'exposition Universelle de Brussels" of 20 Canadian painters, La Galerie Denyse Delrue
- 1963: "Festival of the 2 Worlds", Spolette, Italy; Luminous Sculptures: Museum of Montreal Galerie Agnès Le Fort
- 1964: Museum of Montreal Salon du Printemps Galerie Toninelli, Milan, Italy; Galerie 60 "Espace-temps"
- 1967: Retropesctive "Aspects", Museum of Contemporary Art, Montreal
- 1971: "Borduas and the Automatistes" Grand PalaisGrand PalaisThis article contains material abridged and translated from the French and Spanish Wikipedia.The Grand Palais des Champs-Elysées, commonly known as the Grand Palais , is a large historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located at the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France...
, Paris - 1980: Contemporary Art Society, Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
- 1983: Association of Non-Figurative Artists of Montreal, Concordia UniversityConcordia UniversityConcordia University is a comprehensive Canadian public university located in Montreal, Quebec, one of the two universities in the city where English is the primary language of instruction...
- 1997: Retrospective "Mousseau" Museum of Contemporary Art, Montreal
Collections
- Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal
- Museum of Contemporary Art, Montreal
- National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec, Quebec City
- Museum of Art, Joliette, Quebec
- Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Concordia University, Montreal
- National Art Gallery, Ottawa
- Edmonton Art Gallery
- Art Gallery of WindsorArt Gallery of WindsorThe Art Gallery of Windsor is a not-for-profit art institute in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.Established in 1943, the gallery has a mandate as a public art space to show significant works of art by local, regional, and national artists...
, Windsor, Ontario - University of LethbridgeUniversity of LethbridgeThe University of Lethbridge is a publicly-funded comprehensive academic and research university, founded in the liberal education tradition, located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with two other urban campuses in Calgary and Edmonton. The main building sits among the coulees on the west side of...
Art Collections, Alberta
Website
- http://www.canadianartgroup.com/Jean-paul_Mousseau