2021 report | The year of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec

The year 2021 was marked by the growing stature of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, which has now established itself as a must-see museum in Canada. And not only because, in 2025, it will be the precious setting for the most formidable display of Riopelle’s works. At the same time, art galleries have had a flourishing year.

Eric Clement
Press

The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec has always had a tradition of excellence, but it is clear that the arrival of Jean-Luc Murray at the head of an experienced and valiant team, almost three years ago, gave the MNBAQ additional energy.

The former director of the education department of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) breathed new life into this museum, taking into account the zeitgeist, in particular the representativeness of our diversity, and presenting outstanding exhibitions on artists both from here and from abroad.

This year, the MNBAQ’s programming has been prodigious. An exhibition on Quebec identity in movement (Where do we come from ? Who are we? Where are we going ?). Another on body diversity (Open dialogue), in parallel to Picasso. Figures, a Canadian exclusive. Without forgetting Turner and the sublime, in collaboration with the Tate in London, another exclusive exhibition in Canada, as well as the wonderful tribute to Serge Lemoyne. “A major retrospective by an institution of international caliber”, according to gallery owner Yves Laroche. Finally, the first museum exhibition, in collaboration with the Musée d’art contemporain des Laurentides (MACLAU), by Quebec artist of Haitian origin Stanley February.

The icing on the cake, the MNBAQ inherited an unexpected gift: the Espace Riopelle project that the MMFA abandoned in the fall of 2020. Pandemic or not, the national museum understood that the plan that had been concocted together, from 2018, the patron and collector of Vancouver Michael Audain, the Jean Paul Riopelle Foundation and the former director general of the MMFA Nathalie Bondil had to be realized. Especially since the painter, engraver and sculptor from Quebec, whose centenary will be celebrated in 2023, still has, almost 20 years after his death, a resounding influence on the international scene. His painting The dark, sold for 5.3 million at Christie’s in Paris on December 3, is proof of this.

It is therefore on the Plains of Abraham, and not in Montreal, the artist’s birthplace, that tourists from all over the world will come to admire Riopelle’s most beautiful exhibition. Thanks to the collections of Michael Audain, André Desmarais and Pierre Lassonde, the support of the Quebec government and the MNBAQ, which deserves a big hat this year!

The galleries

“The passion for collecting art still exists,” says André Laroche, of the Laroche / Joncas gallery. However, he had considered, in 2020, to close the premises of the Belgo building.

Indeed, the galleries have rather benefited from the pandemic. Art Mûr carried out, in 2021, on the occasion of its 25^e anniversary, the same turnover as in 2019. Galerie Hugues Charbonneau continued the momentum of previous years. Most of the works of the artists she exhibits are already sold before the opening.

Everything is also good at Blouin Division. “The team is operating at full throttle and the results are eloquent,” says gallery owner René Blouin. The Pierre-François Ouellette gallery had the nice surprise to benefit from more local interest. “An interest based on visits to our site followed by requests for the presentation of works in galleries,” says Mr. Ouellette. This generated a new kind of sales and new customers. ”

The Robertson Arès gallery, which is in its third year of activity, was also successful in 2021. “The pandemic has given the opportunity to young dynamic galleries like ours to stand out and take their place in their work. market, says gallery owner Emily Robertson. This health crisis had shown us that international collectors would be there and ready to invest in art. It took a few months for us to see the same effect in the Montreal market. ”

Gallerist Yves Laroche has noticed a growing demand from corporations and individuals for “important” Canadian artists. “We have had an exceptional sales year thanks to our ability to access major works by established Canadian and international artists,” he says. More than ever, art seems to be recognized by the general public as a safe haven and people are keen to diversify their investments in this sector. ”