Pierres sculptables du Québec

Artists: Jean Brillant, André Lapointe, Réal Patry

May 22, 1987 - June 21, 1987

Opening: May 21, 1987, 8:00 pm

From May 22 to June 21, 1987, the Galerie de l’UQAM presents a traveling exhibition of sculptures by three young artists, two of whom are students at the master’s level in fine arts at UQAM.

Jean Brillant, André Lapointe and Réal Patry present some thirty works created from a material that they all favor: stone, not imported from Italy, but found in Quebec. Indeed, with the help of geologist Serge Occhietti, professor at UQAM, and thanks to a grant from the ministère des Affaires culturelles, these young sculptors first developed a field study project which consisted in drawing up a list of stones suitable for the work of sculpture, found on the various sites in Quebec.

In the exhibition Pierres sculptables du Québec, the artists have incorporated marble and limestone into their works. Each artist exploits the aesthetic characteristics of the stone in its own way, presenting it either in the rough state or after polishing. The integration of various elements such as concrete, bronze, neon, fur, rope or even empty rifle cartridges, completes the theme adopted by each artist.

The exhibition also articulates an educational component made up of photographs and a panel on which we find rock samples, retracing the different stages of the research.

To mark the opening of the exhibition, a book written by the three sculptors in collaboration with Serge Occhietti will be launched. Also titled Les pierres sculptables du Québec, this 200-page book is the result of a research project on marble and limestone carried out by the authors. Intending to be both an introductory document to geology and sculpture, this book presents sixty technical files on quarries in Quebec.