Côté, Marcel

See artworks of Marcel Côté

Technique: Acrylic

Marcel Côté, painter Marcel Côté was born in Quebec in 1961 and still lives there.

It was at the beginning of the 1980s that Marcel Côté got his hands on his first box of colored pencils. His first graphic and pictorial explorations were then fueled by his readings on art as well as his numerous observations of a painter at work in the streets of Old Quebec. At this time, Côté did not know that he was observing and admiring the work of a great Canadian painter. He would learn, a few years later, that the artist whose style he so appreciated was none other than Francesco Iacurto.

Marcel began exhibiting his works in 1986. He discovered a real passion for painting, which he could no longer see simply as a hobby. He therefore set up a workshop in the St-Roch district and invested body and soul in this new path. A self-taught artist, Côté has been painting for around thirty years and makes a living from his art, which is an extreme source of happiness for him.

His pictorial approach combines intuition and reflection and is close, according to him, to a meditative act. He has an undisputed sense of spatial organization. Thus, in his refined works, colors and shapes are skillfully arranged to create harmonious compositions.

Over time, the colors he works with become more vivid as in the vibrantly colored floral scenes he enjoys painting today. For him, the theme of flowers is just an excuse to play with shape and color. Sprays of small multicolored field flowers seem to be carried by the wind in several of his compositions. Other flowers worked with a spatula, in a more gestural manner and in a more refined style, are distinguished by their less defined side and their more marked texture.

Another part of his pictorial work is known to a certain public. These are large-scale canvases, resembling murals which are sometimes created from children's drawings which he integrates into his pictorial work. The Tree of the Francophonie is an example. There are no less than 500 children's drawings. These magnificent mosaic-like canvases are made, on most occasions, for humanitarian organizations.

Media coverage

  • Course, autumn-winter edition 08-09, p. 112-113
  • Course, fall 2008 edition, article p. 126-127
  • Magazin'Art, Biennial directory of Canadian artists in galleries, 2004-2005 and earlier years
  • Course, summer 2004 edition, p. 68-69
  • RDI, television, interview, 04-2003
  • Le Soleil, Quebec, 2002
  • Magazin'Art, spring 2001 edition, article p.47
  • Magazin'Art, autumn 2000 edition, article p.104, 144
  • SRC television, NB, 1999, and others
  • The Metropolitan, Toronto, 1999

Collections

  • Just for Laughs Museum, Montreal
  • Abu Dhabi Men's College, United Arab Emirates
  • Andrès Wines Ltd.
  • AT&T Canada
  • CPG Technology inc.
  • Cognicase
  • Collection Palais des Nations, Geneva, United Nations
  • GAP, United States
  • Government of Quebec
  • Government of Canada
  • Royal Canadian Mint
  • Rotary Club International
  • Computer Research Group
  • TELUQ
  • Nurun
  • City of Charlesbourg, Hotel Clarendon and several others.

Honors

  • Artist chosen to represent the 100th anniversary of the Rotary Club in Chicago in 2005
  • Work chosen by the Just for Laughs Festival, tribute to Picolo (2001)
  • Work chosen and presented to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, presented in Geneva.