About —
The selection of works from the MAJ’s collection presented in Espace 3e this fall showcases the gestural richness of the artist’s work. The pieces include one of Robert’s first canvases making connections between painting and writing, a process she continues to explore, driven by a fascination with the organic character of language.
For Louise Robert, painting and poetry are inseparable. They intertwine on the canvas in a dance that puts gestures front and centre. Robert is a self-taught artist who paints by accumulation, scratching, tearing and material subtraction. Robert has been widely exhibited in Canada and internationally since the 1970s.
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Louise Robert, No. 78-332, 2009. Oil on canvas, 183 x 203 x 6 cm. Photo credit: Louise Robert.
Biography —
Born in Montreal in 1941, Louise Robert began to exhibit her works at Galerie Georges Curzi in 1975. She also exhibited in major institutions: Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (1980); Quebec House Gallery (New York, 1983); Centre culturel canadien (Paris, 1983) and Brussels (1984). A major retrospective was presented at the Musée d’art de Joliette in 2003, then at the Centre d’exposition de Baie Saint-Paul in 2004. Curator Jean-Émile Verdier also dedicated a major exhibition to Louise Robert at the Maison des Arts de Laval in 2007.
Louise Robert has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including Cent onze dessins du Québec (MACM, 1976); Montreal Painting Now (Concordia University, 1982); and L’Anarchie resplendissante de la peinture (UQAM, 1992).
Louise Robert’s works are found in numerous private collections and museums, including the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec and Musée d’art de Joliette.