GUY LANGEVIN

Guy Langeving, Aube 5, mezzotint, 40 x 80 cm (paper), 2021

Mezzotint

Opening on Sunday, April 20 at 2 p.m.

The human body is polymorphic. It is textured, volatile, evanescent, fluid; it is what we want it to be. It’s the way we look at it that defines it. For me, the body is the very material of the image, of the work. However, it must surpass its own nature, transcend its functions, become something else, dissociate itself from the individual, travel through space.

The proposed game is based on perception, on duality. The image is simple, uses simple manners, which in no way diminishes the complexity of the execution, at least sometimes. Through the cutting, the body is transformed, it becomes something else, so much so that it offers the viewer an image that could be deceptive, even going as far as the landscape – but after all, isn’t it the landscape that gives the impression of the image of a body?

Light is fleeting. The moment, between twilight and dawn, when the sky cuts through the landscape, drawing organic, even anatomical, forms, clearly demonstrates that light can only be defined if its partner, shadow, is part of the equation.

This exhibition is an invitation to come and travel through chiaroscuro in selenite landscapes and celestial bodies.

 

Born in Chicoutimi in 1954, Guy Langevin studied at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières from 1974 to 1977, and immediately began his career as a professional artist. He came into contact with printmaking and engraving early in his career.

Best known for his mezzotint (black manner) work, he has had over sixty solo exhibitions. He has also participated in over 450 group exhibitions, among which he has been selected for nearly 300 international exhibitions and biennials.

His career is marked by numerous awards, including the Bharat Bhavan Grand Prize, India; the International Prize of the Guanlan Biennial, China; the Prize for the surpassing of technique, Mezzotinte International Festival, Ekaterinburg, Russia; the Graver Maintenant Prize, France; the Prize for his contribution to printmaking, Splitgraphic, Croatia; and several honorary mentions for his work.

Guy Langevin has been invited to over ten artist residencies in various countries, including France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, China, Japan, and others.

He is one of the founders of the Presse Papier workshop and the Trois-Rivières International Contemporary Printmaking Biennial.