The year 1976 was decisive for me. In addition to shaking up received ideas, my vision of life and of art in general were questioned. Then, little by little, by dint of observing what others were doing and assimilating their work, I adapted to this form of language that is abstract art. "Wild" painting as I called it.
At the age of fifteen, therefore, I adopted this mode of expression and found in it a way of expressing myself on the margins of society and in complete freedom; freed from the preconceptions that most people have about art in general.
It was also during this same period that black occupied an important place in my research. It is still there today. It was also during this period that I wanted above all to define my thinking in relation to art. After reading in a biography of Rothko, a passage which said that art is defined at the beginning by a complex idea that the artist in his journey brings to its simplest expression, I understood the importance of this quotation. Through the artist's personal evolution, against all odds, the stripping, the purity and the assurance in the execution, in my opinion, determine the maturity of the work.
Following a solo exhibition in April 1978 at the Gilles Corbeil Gallery, Crescent Street in Montreal and a two-page cover in Montreal Magazine and despite the fact that almost all of my works found takers, it was at the age of sixteen the total rout, the breakdown of inspiration, the black hole into which one falls and which closes in on oneself. Unable to paint, my artistic descent was complete and unequivocal. A few returns here and there, punctuated by works without a future, marked these dry and fruitless periods, but in vain.
Then, since 2010, my production has been going well. As the phoenix rises from its ashes, I picked up where I left off. Without compromise.
Strengthened by these years of silence and repression, my work has emerged richer, more mature, more serene. There is no doubt in my mind that this return marks the productive start of a long journey.
For the love of art
Denis Vandal
My stay at Brother Jérôme's workshop in 1976 was decisive for me. In addition to shaking up received ideas, my vision of life and of art in general were questioned. Then, little by little, by dint of observing what others were doing and assimilating their work, I adapted to this form of language that is abstract art. "Wild" painting as I called it.
At the age of fifteen, therefore, I adopted this mode of expression and found in it a way of expressing myself on the margins of society and in complete freedom; freed from the preconceptions that most people have about art in general.
It was also during this same period that black occupied an important place in my research. It is still there today. It was also during this period that I wanted above all to define my thinking in relation to art. After reading in a biography of Rothko, a passage which said that art is defined at the beginning by a complex idea that the artist in his journey brings to its simplest expression, I understood the importance of this quotation. Through the artist's personal evolution, against all odds, the stripping, the purity and the assurance in the execution, in my opinion, determine the maturity of the work.
Following a solo exhibition in April 1978 at the Gilles Corbeil Gallery, Crescent Street in Montreal and a two-page cover in Montreal Magazine and despite the fact that almost all of my works found takers, it was at the age of sixteen the total rout, the breakdown of inspiration, the black hole into which one falls and which closes in on oneself. Unable to paint, my artistic descent was complete and unequivocal. A few returns here and there, punctuated by works without a future, marked these dry and fruitless periods, but in vain.
Then, since 2010, my production has been going well. As the phoenix rises from its ashes, I picked up where I left off. Without compromise.
Strengthened by these years of silence and repression, my work has emerged richer, more mature, more serene. There is no doubt in my mind that this return marks the productive start of a long journey.
For the love of art
Denis Vandal