RENÉ LEMAY
CONTEMPORARY REALISM
René Lemay (1934-2015), the multidisciplinary Quebec artist, distinguished himself in his field for over 30 years. Self-taught, he favoured the expression of the here and now, of joy and life over academicism, in whichever medium he chose to work—first drawing and water colour, then acrylic, etching, lacquer, and bronze sculpture. His works have been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions in North America and Asia, as well as in many galleries and public and private collections.
Born in Montreal in 1934, Lemay developed an interest in art at a very early age, though he worked in several other fields before devoting himself entirely to art in 1983. He began exploring ceramics and lithography, and in the 1970s and 80s founded a pottery studio and a publishing house. This unusual career path led him back to the visual arts, and he subsequently made a name for himself as a watercolourist. In 1990, he participated in the first of many professional exhibitions and turned to acrylics, producing works that stand out for their vibrant hues, their energy, and the joy they convey. In 1997, art critic Paul Gladu, who was among the first to celebrate the artist Alfred Pellan, noted Lemay’s significant talent, comparing his work to that of the Automatistes, Miró, and Pellan.
At the end of the 1990s, he began to travel extensively between Asia, the Magdalen Islands, and Montreal, and this marked a turning point in his artistic production. During these years, he associated with artists such as Charles Daudelin, Armand Vaillancourt, Tex Lecor, and Daniel Gautier, all of whom participated in major symposia that took place in the Magdalen Islands. Le Havre Atelier-Galerie became the centre of the region’s art scene, and the group of artists that formed around this venue created AdMare, an organization that exists to this day, promoting the visual arts in the Magdalen Islands.
It was also during this period that Asia became a focus of his creative universe, influencing both his colour palette and the subjects of his paintings. He travelled to Thailand, China, Bali, Vietnam, and Singapore, among other places, to produce the sketches from life that were the inspiration for his works. In Hanoi, he learned new techniques, including lacquer on wood, from masters of the Hanoi School of Fine Arts. His lacquer works produced in Hanoi and the Magdalen Islands were shown in a solo exhibition at the Galerie l'Harmattan in Baie-Saint-Paul, generating enormous interest among collectors and critics. During his many travels, he also befriended numerous artists who were important in their home countries, such as Arie Smith, Paul Husner, Made Sumadiyaasa, and Vuong Hoc Bao, with whom he studied bronze sculpture. This last significant encounter led to an exchange of works between the two artists as a token of their friendship. The artistic network that Lemay built and his entrepreneurial background resulted in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Hanoi, Bangkok, Singapore, and Bali, attracting diplomats and national media. Few Quebec artists have made their mark in Asia as Lemay did.
His independent approach, both in terms of career development and pictorial research as a self-taught artist, makes his signature and career unique and easily distinguishable from his peers.
