Pilar Shephard Art Gallery

René Lemay was born in Montréal in 1934. He his a self-taught artist. Early in his career, he gained recognition in the Québec art scene by publishing his paintings into limited edition prints. Today, one can find his original works permanently exhibited in renowned art galleries throughout Canada, The United States, Europe and Asia.

His work defies classification. It is a challenge to academicism, a vision at the opposite pole from rugged realism, a door opening onto an original world. These paintings are a celebration, even an adventure! His multicoloured, often shiny palette reveals provocative forms that crowd each other, almost exploding off the canvas. He alludes to children, musicians, horses, players and all kinds of “actors”. Portraits, landscapes and still-lifes blend together in Lemay’s artistic universe which is neither figurative nor abstract.