SEPTEMBER 9 TO OCTOBER 23, 2022
After a 25-year career with the famous trio BGL, Jasmin Bilodeau offers us his first solo exhibition in a gallery. Minimal tendre brings together more than twenty paintings and sculptures that bear witness to the artist’s intimate relationship with nature. They are the result of long explorations in which the graphic synthesis of the subject is decisive. Through this process, he creates the effect of a presence that awakens the memory of emotions and affords us a different view of reality.
Divided into three distinct bodies of work, his recent creations reveal a strong material presence that sometimes plays on the ambiguity of the materials used, in addition to proposing meaningful temporal shifts.
In the dozen or so works on canvas presented, Bilodeau pretends, with humour and admiration, to follow in the footsteps of an ancient pictorial tradition and distinguishes himself by his distinctly contemporary approach to the medium.
The subjects of the paintings are taken from my life, precious moments where a certain sweetness of living is expressed, which I track down from dawn to dusk following the seasons.
—Jasmin Bilodeau
In this way, his paintings hint at everyday moments of simple joys and pleasures in which nature provides the backdrop for touching, intimate narratives.
The artist also offers us two series of sculptures. During his walks in the forest and in the city, our sculptor-gatherer has patiently collected various materials which he has judiciously assembled in order to bring out their poetic potential. Through his great sensitivity to the world around him, the artist celebrates the incredible variety of forms in the living world and highlights the stimulating contrasts between urbanity and nature.
More » Originally from Lac-Mégantic, he has worked with the BGL collective from 1996 to 2021. The trio’s impressive career has led them to present more than 40 solo exhibitions and to take part in nearly 100 group exhibitions and events in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Asia. With his colleagues, he has represented Canada at the 56th Venice Biennale, completed major public art projects in Montreal and Toronto, and received numerous distinctions including the CALQ Award—Work of the Year in the National Capital Region, the Work-Wilson Award, the Victor Martyn Lynch-Stauton Award, two OAAG Best Installation and Design Awards, the Graff Award, the Videre Visual Arts Event Award, and the Duchamp-Villon Award. Eager to pursue his artistic adventure, Jasmin Bilodeau is embarking on a solo career. In 2021, he completed a residency in Nantes, France. He lives and works in the City of Québec. The artist wishes to warmly thank these people for their help, advice and valuable comments : Less »
Natalie Jean, Patricia Buck & le Lieu Unique in Nantes, Samuel Guay of Linéaire design, Ludovic Boney and his team, François Simard and his team, L’Atelier du Bronze – Marilène & Pierre-André Gagnon, Est-Nord-Est & Richard Noury, L’Œil de Poisson & Georges-Alexandre Brière, Galerie 3 – Audrey, Norbert, Abdelilah.
Le Soleil – Josianne Desloges – Minimal tendre de Jasmin Bilodeau : cueillir les petits bonheurs
Le Devoir – Olivier Du Ruisseau – Du «pur bonheur» à la Galerie 3
L’Aérospatial – CKRL 89,1 – Gentiane La France – Entrevue avec Jasmin Bilodeau
