March 29 – April 16, 2023
Opening Reception & Artist Talk: Saturday, April 1, 1 – 4 pm
Artist In attendance on the weekend dates
Memory plays an important part in my work. It is mainly inspired by landscapes. By the landscapes of the North: Northern Canada (Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia), Iceland, Ireland, and Scotland. By the big sky. By the sea. By the memory of these images. And by the memory of the atmosphere, of the impression left by a sunrise or a sunset or a midnight sun, by a night sky, by a brief glance at the clouds or the horizon or the land or the sea, by a swatch of colour.
The Winds of Time refers to time’s ability to slowly change everything. To change our memory of the places we might have been, to change our memory of the moments we might have lived. In my work, The Winds of Time refer to the slow evolution of my art in time. They refer to how my work shifts between levels of abstraction. My work becomes the imagination of that memory.
What we think we recognize has become more ambiguous, more mysterious.
And The Winds of Time refer to how I slowly alternate between media – painting on canvas or on paper, sculpture, mixed media, video – and how my work slowly evolves within these media.
For over 25 years, Jacques Descoteaux has had a dual career – as a professional accountant (CPA) and as an artist – working first in watercolour and pastel, and now mainly in oil on canvas and acrylic on paper. Jacques also works in sculpture and does
the occasional video. He now works full-time on his art. He is inspired by the landscape of the North – Northern Quebec, British Columbia, Ontario, and Northern Europe. By the sky and the sea.
Over the years, Jacques has studied with many artists in their studios and in various art schools. He has participated in a pastel master class with the American artist Wolf Kahn at the National Academy in New York. Jacques has enjoyed artist residencies in 2015 and 2019 as part of the Cill Rialaig project in County Kerry, Ireland.
Jacques works as a volunteer with non-profits, in the art world and in social justice. He is a member of Propeller, BRAVO-Art, and Le Labo. Jacques has participated in solo and group exhibitions in Toronto, Montreal and New York. His work is held in private collections in Canada, the United States and Europe. He is represented by Petroff Gallery in Toronto and MardenArt in Pointe-Claire, QC.
Originally from Montreal, Jacques now lives and works in Toronto.
