iconTechnique: Acrylic and mixed media
Patrick Pépin is a Canadian visual artist, born in 1976 in Lac-Mégantic, a town in Quebec located in Estrie. In the art world, he owes his international success to his abstract works which combine unique mixtures of colors and to his singular and inventive way of representing the world which is constantly evolving.
The artist has painted, drawn and sculpted since childhood. It was by becoming aware of the fragility of life that he made his first encounter with art. “When I was very little, my mother had cancer, a doctor came to see me and said: “Your mother is very ill, she may die, you are going to have to be very strong, is- Do you understand what that means? » When I got home, I went into the garden, took a pebble and carved a drawing on a rock. In my childhood mind, it was the only way to escape death, you had to leave a mark somewhere. »
This conscious sensitivity is felt everywhere in Pépin's work. By browsing his collections, we understand that he is the interpreter of a global vision of the world which goes well beyond what is perceptible to the naked eye.
A tireless traveler – he has visited more than thirty countries – he finds much of his raw material in this journey around the world. But if the journey is the starting point of his exploration, his creative process is not premeditated and often begins in the unconscious.
Pépin's art expresses freedom and movement. Aside from commonplaces, the artist finds his inspiration in everything and everywhere. Working on contrasts in a sort of controlled chaos, he manages to distance himself sufficiently from his subject to give it its own consistency. The result is all the more impressive as most of his works are painted on canvases of disproportionate proportions which increase the effect tenfold.
In recent years, the artist has begun to incorporate posters of his own paintings taken in photos into his works. These are cut out, glued back together in a different order, painted and reworked with Indian ink before being photographed again, cut out and glued back into other works. A true canvas within a canvas, this approach inspired by Street art echoes the selfie frenzy and the navel-gazing which contaminates current societies.
From the end of November 2019 and until June 2020, a gigantic mural by the artist inspired by the Playing Cards series was exhibited at the Musée d'art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul (MACBSP).
The artist is also working with a company on a mural project planned for 2021. The immense work measuring 3 meters by 2 meters will be made up of recycled objects of all kinds. Project details will be announced later.
Patrick Pépin is represented in Canada and the United States by the Beauchamp galleries. He is also represented in British Columbia by The Whistler Village Art Gallery and in Europe. A colossal work can be seen on permanent display at the Metro Toronto Convention Center. In addition, Patrick Pépin is part of around thirty private collections in America, Europe and Asia. One of his works is now part of the private collection of the Musée d'art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul.
Media coverage
- Sofadéco Magazine, vol. 9, no 7, November 2014
- Droit de Parole, “Living from your painting”, published on March 11, 2014
- Magazin'Art, Biennial Directory of Canadian artists in galleries, years 2012-2013
- Sofadéco Magazine, Special issue, volume 4 no 1, p.75
- Sofadéco Magazine, volume 7, no 4, p.30
- Course, September-October 2010 edition, p.132-133
Private and public collections
- Baie-St-Paul Contemporary Art Museum
- Baldwin and Sons, California, USA
- Brian Lee, New York, New York, USA
- CIBC, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Divine Paradise, Boucherville, Quebec, Canada
- Lotus Endodontics, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Ernst & Young, Quebec, Quebec, Canada
- John Molson School of Business - Concordia, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Lemay Michaud Architecture Design, Quebec, Quebec, Canada
- Metro Toronto Convention Center (MTCC), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Norton Rose, Quebec, Quebec, Canada
- Varma V Escudero Dezsery, Tiacopac, Mexico
- and several other private collections in Canada, the United States and Europe
Exhibitions
- 2019-2020 - Sans Limites , Contemporary Art Museum of Baie-St-Paul