In the workshop of… | Paule Mainguy: intaglio in the skin

Paule Mainguy has been a printer at Atelier Cirque, in Montreal, for 22 years. A specialist in intaglio, a metal engraving technique, she received us in her workspace, where we discussed her career and the challenges of the world of printmaking in Quebec.

Artisan at heart

Paule Mainguy most often has her hands in black ink. Responsible for printing intaglio works at the Circular Workshop, she was destined for education, but printed art caught up with her! “I’ve always been manual,” she says. But on the handicraft side, even if I have an artistic sense. I like doing it, the material, things that take time. »

Born in Quebec, Paule Mainguy painted on wood, sewed, stage costumes and even theater as an author and actress. Spouse of François Vincent, contemporary print artist at the Circular Workshop, she entered it by… bookkeeping! “As I tend to take it easy, I ended up being trained in intaglio in 2001 by François-Xavier Marange,” she says. François-Xavier Marange, French artist and master printer who passed away in 2012, left his mark on the circular workshop and the destiny of Paule Mainguy. “I was lucky because he was extremely available to me. He was a passionate communicator. »

Paule Mainguy a ensuite, pendant 20 ans, imprimé les gravures de l’artiste graveur Louis-Pierre Bougie, cofondateur de l’Atelier circulaire et malheureusement mort il y a deux ans. « Il m’appelait tous les jours. C’était un artiste unique, malheureusement pas reconnu comme il aurait dû l’être. »

La taille-douce

Paule Mainguy nous a donné un aperçu de l’impression d’une taille-douce, cette gravure en creux sur plaque de métal (appelée la matrice), très souvent en cuivre. Le procédé date du XV^e siècle. « J’aime la taille-douce car cela donne des noirs qu’on ne retrouve nulle part, dit-elle. Grâce aux creux, il y a une profondeur inimitable. Et dans l’impression, beaucoup de subtilités sont possibles, selon la chaleur, l’humidité du papier, la qualité des encres ou la pression. C’est pour ça que le métier d’imprimeur est un métier à part entière. Graveur et imprimeur, ce sont deux métiers. »

Riopelle n’était pas imprimeur. Ses gravures étaient mises sous presse par des imprimeurs, au Québec par Bonnie Baxter. Mais aujourd’hui, de plus en plus de graveurs impriment leurs œuvres. « Il y a de moins en moins d’imprimeurs, dit Paule Mainguy. En tout cas au Québec. Mais c’est encore moi qui imprime les matrices de François [Vincent] ! »

The circular workshop

The Circular Workshop was created in 1982. Since 2002, it has been in the Pôle de diffusion building in Gaspé, in Mile End. There is an exhibition room on the ground floor and large spaces for work, research and training on 5^e stage. There is a corner for lithography, another for intaglio, one for serigraphy, one for typography and a digital printing workshop. The Circular Workshop will organize conferences this year and an exhibition in the fall to highlight its 40 years of existence.

But the world of printing is changing and the Atelier must adapt. The demand for monotypes (unique works) is stronger than before and there are fewer large editions. “We must revalorize the matrix and the multiple work,” says Paule Mainguy. And increase the venues. But galleries would rather sell a $5,000 painting than a $250 print. »

Paule Mainguy nevertheless feels a certain revival, with a recent attraction for what is manual. “In our classes, we have people from Ubisoft, from Moment Factory. They want to touch and feel something. Young people want to make their own inks, to know the material. Typography has become popular again. The paper becomes noble again. »

His future

Paule Mainguy continues to give intaglio lessons while engraving birds in intaglio. She will exhibit, like François Vincent, her prints at the Foire Saint Sulpice in Paris in June. She started creating lampshades. “I take my printed birds, have them isolated by our digital technician, and have that printed on Japanese papers,” she says.

At 66, the fires of passion still burn inside her, but she is more tired than before. “My days must be shorter, otherwise I’m a wreck!” It’s physical work, hard on the shoulder because you always do the same movements. And concentration, which is necessary, is also tiring. Fortunately, Paule Mainguy is athletic. She has always cycled and cross-country skied. ” It helps ! “, she says.

She does not intend to leave the Atelier anytime soon. “I can’t afford it financially and I feel responsible. I am alone for the intaglio. And it’s difficult to train someone, because to make the place dynamic, you always have to be present. So it takes someone totally dedicated. With my colleague Carlos Calado [coordonnateur de la lithographie], we are part of a class apart! The world is no longer ready to invest so much today. It is obviously worrying. In France, there are many engravers, organizations, events around engraving. Whereas here, we are a bit like Gauls! But we are tenacious! We are still here! »