Jean Gaudreau Canada, b. 1964

Jean Gaudreau was born in Quebec City in 1964. At a very young age , he shows a definite interest for drawing and painting. This interest prompts him to enroll in classes that will earn him a college degree in plastic arts and a BA from Laval University in 1988. In 1990, Jean Gaudreau embarks on a cultural journey to Europe (Paris and Venice) that will incite him to study the great European Masters.

After exploring several paths, Jean Gaudreau opts for the non-figurative form, a demanding discipline that was then appreciated only by a restricted public. But his unshakeable resolve allows him to persist and follow through with his artistic approach.

In February 2003, after a few individual exhibitions in several art galleries everywhere in Quebec as well as outside the province, Gaudreau is invited to present a solo exhibit in the Cirque du Soleil’s location in Montreal. This magical venue attracts a large umber of visitors and the event marks the beginning of a collaboration with the Cirque.

"My approach concerning the integration of recycled copper in my artworks started in 2011, when I was offered the opportunity to acquire fragments of the Château Frontenac’s old roofing. Working with pieces taken from this jewel of Quebec City’s heritage was for me not only an honour, but also a way to explore other avenues of the artistic creation Having been entrusted with a piece of the copper, I felt invested with an important mission : preserving a page of our history by giving it a new life through a resolutely current approach.

I first had to tame a material that was thus far alien to me. So I folded, hammered, and brushed pieces of copper until they surrendered their secrets. It took me a year to master the art of handling the copper, an approach that demanded the acquisition of several pieces of equipment and the development of a new space in my workshop."