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Alfred Pellan at the Musée d’art contemporain des Laurentides

Madeleine Pellan, Gisèle Bart (Passage d’Artistes), Andrée Matte, curator, Mr. Gladu, creator of the film about Pellan, which will be shown at the museum during the exhibition.

On Tuesday, May 16th over 200 invitees gathered for the opening of Alfred Pellan – La Modernité.  The exhibition marks the hundred-year anniversary of Pellan’s birth.  The reception was festive.  Guests were invited to refreshments including cakes decorated with an Alfred Pellan painting, served in a room displaying photographs and published articles about Pellan’s prolific career. 

André Marion, the museum’s director, introduced and thanked those involved in preparing the show:  Mrs. Madeleine Pellan for her collaboration, Germain Lefebvre for his counsel, Marie-Hélène Lépine for her research and text, the Michel Bigué gallery for their support; and Andrée Matte, the exhibition curator, who chose a special approach to present Pellan with a catalogue, entitled Alfred Pellan – La Modernité. 

Visitors are invited to view the work of well known Quebec artists who exhibited in galleries, at the time Pellan returned home in 1940.  The collection includes landscapes painted by Marc Aurèle Fortin, Stanley Cosgrove and others, as well as a small painting by Paul-Émile Borduas, (Saint-Joachim, 1935, oil on canvas, 46.7 x 61 cm, on loan from the collection of Power Corporation of Canada, displayed in a glass case.)  This collection demonstrates that despite the departure from the rural landscape to cityscape such as Louis Muhlstock, (Summer backyard of St. Urbain Street, 1929, oil on canvas, 53.5 x 69 cm.), art in Quebec was still quite conventional.

During his 14-year stay in Paris, Pellan was inspired to experiment in avant-garde styles such as Fauvism, Cubism and Surrealism.  Upon his return to Quebec, he was invited to exhibit at the Quebec Museum of Art, in June 1940, for which he chose 161 of the 400 paintings done in Paris.  It was the first large scale modern art exhibition in Quebec.

One can see the impact when moving on to the next room with Pellan’s 1926-1940 work.  

                                                                                  View of part of the exhibit

What a difference! The colours are bright, cheerful and humorous, abstract characters, fruits and flowers, painted in vivid colours.  There are display cases with Pellan’s paint brushes, pallet, tools, cards, catalogues, posters and designs for theatre costumes.  A few paintings are influenced by Picasso, and Matisse, yet others show Pellan’s own voice.

Andrée Matte, exhibition curator with Pellan’s painting Nu de Femme, circa 1935, oil, 24.6 x 20 cm. 

The Musée d’art contemporain des Laurentides opened a major exhibition for summer 2006 entitled Alfred Pellan – La Modernité.  

Andrée Matte, the curator of this exhibit chose an original approach to show Pellan’s work.  The Pellan paintings in this show were done in Paris during the years 1926 to 1940.  In order to emphasize his modernity, the show also features the work of many well known Quebec artists who were shown in Quebec galleries in 1940, when Pellan returned from Paris after a 14-year stay.  There are also displays of photos, articles, work tools, printed cards and even Jewellery.  His paintings are both figurative and abstract, done with pure vivid colours.

Pellan started painting at an early age.  At age 16 Pellan already sold a painting to the National Gallery of Canada.  At age 20 Pellan went to study at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, Paris, France, with a scholarship from the province of Quebec.  While in Paris, he has discovered the work of modern artists such as Picasso and Matisse and others.  He was enchanted and influenced, yet worked on creating his own personal style.  In 1935 he was awarded first prize at the Salon d’art mural de Paris. 

In 1940, upon his return from Paris, he had a major solo exhibition at the Quebec Museum of Art, part of which was later exhibited in Montreal as well.  Pellan also designed costumes and sets for theatre, and created murals and worked in stained glass.  In 1961, the National Gallery of Canada organized a retrospective of Pellan’s work, which was also shown later at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Musée du Québec, and the Art Gallery of Ontario.  Pellan received many honours and awards during his lifetime, including a medal from the Canada Council.  He was granted honorary degrees from the universities of Ottawa, Sir George Williams and Laval. This exhibit is worthwhile visiting.

 Colours and dimensions artwork may be slightly different from the original.