VANITAS, new works by internationally acclaimed artist, Paul Béliveau

On display in the Stone Distillery Gallery May 18th through June 11th, the Thompson Landry Gallery is thrilled to present VANITAS, a solo exhibition for celebrated Quebec artist, Paul Béliveau. With more than one hundred exhibitions to his credit worldwide; the artist has exhibited his art internationally for over forty years. Abiding by the three tenants of his artistic practice, time, memory and history, VANITAS draws on Béliveau`s passion for books.  Each book is carefully chosen and placed to create balance while always considering its visual qualities, reference in time, and what it will evoke emotionally.  In Béliveau`s development of monochromy, he has chosen the colour of the books according to their subject, thus adding another layer that accentuates the theme and impact of the painting.

Known for his meticulous nature and aesthetic accuracy, Paul Béliveau’s approach to painting is an extension of “pictorial archeology,” in that his work references a database of thousands of personal and historical photographs, mementos and vestiges. Between the years 2000-2023, Paul Béliveau has created 13 different bodies of works, however one focus that the artist steadily returns to is his depiction of books – book spines especially – some from his own book collection, but mostly from his own extensive library of imagination.