René Derouin in Montreal and Quebec

Visual artist René Derouin is currently featured in Montreal and Quebec. The Society for Arts and Technology (SAT) broadcasts the immersive film Territories of the Americas that documentary maker Patrick Bossé made on the career of the Quebec virtuoso in drawing and printmaking. And the Michel Guimont gallery exhibits his latest creations in the Old Capital.

Eric Clement
Press

It took Patrick Bossé seven years to realize Territories of the Americas, a documentary that revisits, in immersion, the 60-year career of René Derouin, from his beginnings in Quebec to his years of conception in Mexico, including his engraving courses in Japan in 1968.

We travel for 45 minutes, stretched out on a large soft cushion, immersed in the graphic, poetic and humanistic universe of this unique artist, now 85 years old. To make his film, Patrick Bossé had to dive head first into René Derouin’s rather dense career in order to draw a faithful and as complete portrait as possible.

“It was a guarantee of quality,” says Patrick Bossé. Then, as I went along, I showed him how the film was progressing. The approach was precise. He felt confident. It gave a film that is like his works, generous. ”

The film shows the artist in his studio in La Rolland, in Sainte-Adèle, in artistic residency in Percé, in his Jardins du Précambrien, in Val-David, and in the studio, during interviews, in Montreal. This gives a series of testimonies from René Derouin who speaks of his beginnings, of the impact that the death of his brother had on him, of his teachings, of his need to bear witness to his love for the Americas, for the territories. and nature. And its commitments to solidarity, sharing, environmental protection and democracy.

The feeling of immersion is not always equal in the film, but several passages are impressive, in particular the images of forest diffused upside down which give a nice feeling. The inlays of graphic elements from René Derouin’s creations enrich the image, as do the close-ups of the artist’s face.

The Satosphere effectively inserts us into the heart of Derouin’s work. “The dome is a space in which spectators gather around art, as René Derouin does with visitors on his site in Val-David,” says Patrick Bossé. The Satosphere allows you to fully experience the projected landscapes that inspired Mr. Derouin. The space is as monumental as its practice, and the immersion works very well with the dream, the emotion and the memories. ”

René Derouin believes that Patrick Bossé has made an “extraordinary” film. “I am lucky to have come across him and producer Pascal Pelletier, from the firm Figure 55,” he says. Patrick did a real doctorate on me! With ethics and respect. He explored my work very closely, on Americanity and on the particularity of the territories. When I saw the movie the first time, I was in shock. It’s a big gift that I got. ”

At the same time, in Quebec, the artist exhibits at Michel Guimont works more relaxing than those of his previous series, Raptors. The corpus Migration sediments has been achieved since the start of the pandemic. We feel a need for appeasement, with more vivid colors.

“I had been in Mexico since January 2020 when the pandemic arrived,” he says. Until we returned to Quebec, on March 29, 2020, before the border closed, I produced this series of drawings that I then used to make my wood reliefs. It reconnects with the river and migration. ”

The exhibition includes relief woods in soft hues, with beautiful greens in particular, airy creations, warmer and more serene than the works of Raptors. As well as perforated and embossed papers, with beautiful floating arrangements of plants, animals and human shadows. The theme of migration is treated with refinement, as is the imagination of the St. Lawrence. Always with the same technical quality and this unique signature of René Derouin.

“More than ever in this time of change and social concern, I think the artist must dream and imagine like an exile,” he says.

The immersive film Territories of the Americas is presented at the Society for Technological Arts until November 27. René Derouin’s latest works are on display at the Galerie Michel Guimont in Quebec City until November 14.