Born in Quebec City in 1964, Jean Gaudreau was only twelve years old when he began selling his paintings to tourists visiting l’Île aux Coudres. Describing the inspiration behind his work, Gaudreau writes: “Dance, a tool to express all aspects of human sentiment, has proven to be the ideal medium to extract the essence of pure emotion and to project it into the souls of the observers. The structure of my works remains resolutely classical. However, I enjoy adding surrealistic touches which transport people into dimensions where each can find his own personal equilibrium. And, in my opinion, only the body movements can truly convey these emotions.”
Whether it be fiery yellow, vivid turquoise or punctuated with white, the background in Gaudreau’s work is always left airy and luminous. These backgrounds provide his figures with the illusion of infinite space enabling them to fully stretch their arms and legs, summersault in mid-air,float in underwater landscapes or explore new dimensions. Gaudreau adds: “I have chosen to depict bodies of a spindly nature so as to emphasize the importance of the movements they perform.” Gaudreau’s paintings express the frenzy and anticipation of a circus performance, where trapeze artists and acrobats captivate the viewer with the energetic choreography.

STUDIES

1988 Bachelor in Fine Arts, Laval University, Quebec, Canada
1985 Diploma of Collegial Studies in Fine Arts, CEGEP Sainte-Foy, Sainte-Foy, Canada
1985 Studies in Contemporary Art, Paris, Vienna, Lausanne

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2006 Galerie d’art Cimon, Quebec City, Canada

2003 Galerie Lacroix, Quebec City, Canada
Cirque du Soleil, Head Office, Montreal, Canada

2001 Contemporary Art Exhibition Hall, Petit Champlain Theater, Quebec City, Canada

2000 Galerie Bernard, Montreal, Canada
Galerie d’art Gala, Trois-Rivières, Canada

1999 Espace 303, Old Port of Quebec City, Canada
Galerie d’art contemporain, Montreal, Canada

1998 Jean Gaudreau studio, Old Port of Quebec City, Canada
Galerie du Trait-Carré, Charlesbourg, Canada

1997 Centre de diffusion artistique du Vieux-Port, Quebec City, Canada

1995 Galerie Harrison, Montral, Canada
Palais Montcalm, Quebec City, Canada

1994 Galerie Michel Biguë, Saint-Sauveur-des-Monts, Canada

1991 Galerie Michel Biguë, Saint-Sauveur-des-Monts, Canada

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2004 20 years of the Cirque du Soleil, Baie-Saint-Paul, Canada

2000-1999 Galerie Bernard, Montreal, Canada

1996 Centre de diffusion artistique du Vieux-Port, Quebec City, Canada
Maison de la culture de Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec

1995 Palais Montcalm, Quebec City, Canada

1994 Académie Cadence, Quebec City, Canada

1992 Maison Louise Carrier, Lévis, Quebec

1991 Foundation Charles-Lemoyne, Boucherville, Quebec

1986 St-Pascal-de-Maizerets Church, Canada

SCENOGRAPHY

1997 Stage design for La Cage, Musée du Québec

1996 Stage design for Féérie, Institut canadien, Québec

1995 Stage design for Dracula, Institut canadien, Québec

AWARDS
1988 Grand prize, Calendar illustration contest, Laval University
Grand prize, Visual arts event, Quebec Summer Festival

BIBLIOGRAPHY (partial list)

Magazine Parcours, Vol. 12 no.1, spring 2006, Jean Gaudreau, chorégraphe pictural, article
from Jacques Bélanger
Magazine Parcours, vol. 10, no.3, fall 2004, Jean Gaudreau, La vie est un cirque, amusons-nous!, text from Robert Bernier
Magazine Parcours, winter 2003, Jean Gaudreau, Lieux magiques, text from Jean Dumont

Magazine Parcours, vol. 7, no.2, summer 2001, Jean Gaudreau, entre le geste et le regard, text from Jean Dumont
Catalogue Jean Gaudreau, Métamorphose II, 2000, Jacques Bélanger, Québec
Magazine Vie des Arts, no. 179, summer 2000, Concilier l’inconciliable, Jean Gaudreau,
Métamorphose II, article from Isabelle Bussières.
Catalogue Jean Gaudreau, Expressibilité dans un nouveau monde, Guy Robert, Édition Malibu, Québec

COLLECTIONS

Cirque du Soleil
Sherpa Holding
City of Quebec
City of Hull
City of Charlesbourg
National Library of Quebec
National Library of Canada
Salle Albert-Rousseau, Quebec
Sherbrooke University
Laval University
Académie Cadence, Quebec, Canada
Caisse populaire Saint-Pascal de Maizerets, Quebec, Canada
Gilles-Kègle Foundation, Quebec, Canada
Saint-Pascal de Maizerets Church, Quebec, Canada
Charles-Lemoynes Foundation, Montreal, Canada
Artothèque of Montreal, Canada
Rivolta art Gallery, Lausanne, Switzerland
Lois Jeans Canada
Les Productions CDA inc., Laval, Canada
Théâtre Impérial de Québec

Artistic Process
An Offering of Light
After having explored the cosmic dimension of movement evolving in the celestial darkness, my artistic path has brought me to once again question the role of light as a backdrop for my present work.
Almost non-existent during my "Circonvolutions Dansantes" period, where the black background gave depth to the characters, as in a shadow box, the use of bright colours now works as an energy catalyst. The characters are now not only suspended in the air but must interact with the power of the surrounding elements.
The use of a sun yellow, for example, confers genuine strength to the silhouettes of the figures in motion. These silhouettes, dependant upon the whims of natural forces, are now in a direct relation with their setting. The solemn communion between human beings and the cosmos engenders a symbiotic evolution. And it is precisely upon this symbiosis that the milestone of my artistic process lies.

Capturing Light to Better Project It
As with the characters from "Circumvolutions", those that I have depicted in this new series have retained their minimalist nature. This dimension underlines the power of the luminous immensity which envelops them and highlights the playful aspect of the airy dance, in the same way that the background of the canvas acts as a means of projecting the movement, as opposed to the "Circumvolutions" backgrounds which captured it.
This luminescent liberation of the backgrounds underlines the energy of these movements and engenders a new spatial symmetry which manifests itself mainly through the appearance of right angles which help give a theatrical atmosphere to the subjects and the forms which surround them. Thus, certain characters seem to float in space while others continue on their journey, sheltered by a massive structure. This dichotomy between celestial weightlessness and the weight of terrestrial magnetism expresses the duality of humanity and the difficulty they have in finding an equilibrium between reality and fantasy.

Dance, Life's Continuum
Dance, a tool to express all aspects of human sentiment, has proven to be the ideal medium to extract the essence of pure emotion and to project it into the souls of the observers.
The structure of my works remains resolutely classical. However, I enjoy adding surrealistic touches which transport people into dimensions where each can find his own personal equilibrium. And, in my opinion, only the body movements can truly convey these emotions.
The use of luminous backgrounds also enables an evolution of the figures in a multitude of environments, something that the black backgrounds did not. As such, the subjects on the canvas can pirouette in the air, float through an aquatic space or simply travel across another dimension.
This aspect is very interesting as it gives me the chance to explore different universes. Green and turquoise backgrounds, for example, can evoke marine life. As for the figures I conjure up, I have chosen to depict bodies of a spindly nature so as to emphasize the importance of the movements they perform. Thus, the arms and legs of the figures seem to be stretched out to infinity, giving the observer the impression that they embrace the universe in all its entirety.

** Heaven and Earth as Tools of Theatricality
These figures also evoke the spatial choreography of the power of the circus as much as cosmic sources, the energy necessary to rise up onto the bar of a trapeze and to unfurl celestial arabesques. Yet, all these figures are part of a theatrical setting where the acrobats are contemplated from below by other subjects anchored firmly to Mother Earth. As with old engravings, the terrestrial figures evoke both the trials of life and the aspirations toward a better existence. Eyes are looking upwards, searching the heavens for the answers to the painful questions of the infinite.