At 92 years old and despite recent health concerns, Armand Vaillancourt has lost none of his ardor, his outspokenness and his creative spirit. The artist and his youngest son, Alexis Vaillancourt, have concocted a joint exhibition which is currently on display at the Diane-Dufresne Art Center in Repentigny.
The first learned to work hard, early on, growing up on a farm. The second was brought up in a family where freedom and creation were celebrated. It was therefore in the order of things that Armand Vaillancourt and his son Alexis, now aged 29, exhibit together one day.
“A 10-year-old child on the farm, that has so many obligations, you learn, you mature very quickly, summarizes the sculptor who became famous with his first performance work. The tree in rue Durocher, in 1953. It’s like an artist who starts working young. “
Baptized Two hearts Two heads – Between dream and reality, the exhibition is composed of creations from various techniques and periods of the two artists. As well as representative works and sculptures never presented to the general public by the native Quebec artist of Black Lake.
The bond uniting here the father and the son? The materiality and use of recycled objects stemming from an ecological ulterior motive, of course, but also “from the infinite possibilities that come with the discovery of things thrown in the street”, explains Alexis, including each of the works in 3D. consists of recovered material.
Freedom as a legacy
The exhibition brings together some sixty works from various periods of creation, including a few pieces bearing the seal of memory. This is the case of Hellish race, a canvas on which the father stuck small cars belonging to Alexis as a child.
“There is no common work or recovery, it is rather a dialogue between the two artists”, explains Joanne Beaulieu, companion of the painter-sculptor and mother of Alexis. It was she and her son who set up the exhibition and chose the works to be exhibited, while Vaillancourt father recovered from a difficult time spent in the hospital.
“I’m still doing well in my head, launches the painter who celebrated his 92 years on his hospital bed, but who now seems in great shape. I must have abused my heart a lot. I think if I hadn’t been to the hospital I would have died today. I was unblocked arteries and put a pacemaker [stimulateur cardiaque] and now I’m fine. “
In addition to an exhibition presented in Rivière-du-Loup when Alexis was only 8 years old, Two hearts Two heads – Between dream and reality is their first father-son exhibition.
“I was given a lot of freedom,” says the son. I could experience a lot of things all the time. The idea was not to see if I had potential, but rather to let the child discover. “
The exhibition Two hearts Two heads – Between dream and reality is presented at the Diane-Dufresne Art Center in Repentigny until January 9, 2022.