Denis Juneau (September 30, 1925 – October 6, 2014) was a Canadian

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and a leading figure in the Canadian plasticien movement.

Biography

Juneau was born in

Verdun, Quebec Verdun (; , ) is a borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, located in the southwestern part of the island. Long known as a working class neighbourhood, it has experienced significant gentrification and social change in the 21 ...

, Canada in 1925. He studied at the

École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région ...

, with the guidance of

Alfred Pellan Alfred Pellan (born Alfred Pelland; 16 May 1906 – 31 October 1988) was an important figure in twentieth-century Canadian painting. Biography Alfred Pelland was born in Quebec City on 16 May 1906. His mother, Régina Damphousse, died when ...

, amongst others, and became a notorious figure in the new wave of artists that

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

was to produce in the era of the late 1950s and early 1960s. The third child of 5, Juneau contracted

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

at the age of 18 months, resulting in total deafness. In addition, he contracted

poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...

at age 3, which paralysed right leg. Later, he went on to study in Italy, at the Sculoa di Disegno di

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is ...

from 1954 to 1956. From Italy, he also retained a body language that was to characterize him for the rest of his long life. After his return to Montreal in 1956, he took part in a collective exhibition at the Denyse Delrue gallery, with other young painters of his generation. Two years later he had his first of many personal exhibitions in the same gallery. Juneau became recognized as one of the plasticien (or hard edge) painters such as

Guido Molinari Guido Molinari (October 12, 1933 – February 21, 2004) was a Canadian artist, known internationally for his serial abstract paintings. Biography Molinari was born in Montreal, Quebec to Italian heritage with his parents from Cune (Borgo a ...

Fernand Toupin Fernand Toupin (1930, Montreal–2009 Terrebonne) was a Québécois abstract painter best known as a first-generation member of the avant-garde movement known as Les Plasticiens. Like other members of the group, his shaped paintings drew upon ...

Claude Tousignant Claude Tousignant (born December 23, 1932 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian artist. Tousignant is considered to be an important contributor to the development of geometric abstraction in Canada. Biography Claude Tousignant was born in Montre ...

and

Fernand Leduc Fernand Leduc (4 July 1916 – 28 January 2014) was a Canadian abstract expressionist painter and a major figure in the Quebec contemporary art scene in the 1940s and 1950s. During his 50-year career, Leduc participated in many expositions in Ca ...

. All through the 1960s, 1970s and part of the 1980s, he remained faithful to that form of painting until a year stay in Paris (1982), when he slowly turned to a more fluid and free style of expression. A prolific artist, he also produced many sculptures, designed symbols and logos, such as the one for the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...

. His work has been shown in museums world wide. In 1986, he was the first artist to be awarded the

Gershon Iskowitz prize Gershon Iskowitz (1919 – January 26, 1988) was a Canadian artist of Jewish background originally from Poland. Iskowitz was a Holocaust survivors, Holocaust survivor of the Kielce Ghetto, who was liberated at Buchenwald concentration camp, Bu ...

. In 1987 The

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...

presented a solo exhibition of his work. The

Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec ( en, National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec), abbreviated as MNBAQ, is an art museum in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The museum is situated in Battlefield Park and is a complex consisting of four bui ...

held an important retrospective of his paintings and sculptures in 2001. Juneau received the

Prix Paul-Émile-Borduas The Prix Paul-Émile-Borduas is an award by the Government of Quebec that is part of the Prix du Québec, given to individuals who are artists or craftsman in the fields of visual arts, of the trades of art, architecture and the design. It is na ...

, awarded by the government of Quebec in 2008. He was made a member of the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

. Juneau died of pneumonia on October 6, 2014, at the

Hôpital Notre-Dame Hôpital Notre-Dame ( en, Notre Dame Hospital) is a hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located on Sherbrooke Street East in the borough of Ville-Marie, across from La Fontaine Park. It was established in 1880, and has been at its presen ...

in Montreal.

References

Google Books

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Juneau, Denis 20th-century Canadian painters Canadian male painters 21st-century Canadian painters Artists from Montreal People from Verdun, Quebec 1925 births 2014 deaths French Quebecers Deaf artists Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts People with polio École des beaux-arts de Montréal alumni Deaf people from Canada 20th-century Canadian male artists 21st-century Canadian male artists

Biography

See also

References

External links