Johanne Brouillette

Evoking a sense of place and imbued with intense raw emotion and quiet tranquillity, my paintings are visual poems, an allusion to landscape, a suggestion of time or personal life experience based on colour and sensory details. Technically, the work is non-representational, but to say this would be a disservice to the countless natural inspirations in my daily life. Each painting is created in a spontaneous, gestural, expressionistic style, yet references the highly influential Canadian landscapes around me. I enjoy observing seasonal changes, allowing different textures, colours and shapes of trees and leaves influence my work.

Intuitively, I begin with improvised layers of colour and marks. Then the slow painting process begins. It can take weeks, months or even years of building and breaking down the surface of a piece until I am completely satisfied. I rarely use brushes, preferring the physical act of moving, scraping and removing oil paint with palette knives and handmade tools. Working on several paintings at any given time, I move from one to the other, rotating them as I go. This method enables me to develop the pictorial space as I work the painting deeper onto the canvas creating a multi-layered composition of colour , balance and light. The use of cold wax, marble dust, wood ashes and oil sticks helps me achieve a richer, textured surface. Each painting can go through many lives or “seasons”, changing drastically during the process, depending where my inspiration takes me on any given day.

Led by my passion and visually influenced by Québec Automatistes painters such as Riopelle, Borduas and Ferron, I have found freedom of expression in abstraction pursued through automatism and strive to create art that is fresh and uniquely my own. My hope is that my abstract paintings hint at something familiar, yet remain open ended to allow the viewer’s imagination to complete the story.

Painting residency, Atelier Rod, Caroline Archambault, St-Sauveur
Advanced contemporary painting courses (artistic approach) individual coaching with Caroline Archambault, St-Sauveur
Contemporary art course with artist Caroline Archambault, St-Sauveur
Workshop on Black and White with artist Caroline Archambault, St-Sauveur
Workshop on Transparencies and Light with artist Caroline Archambault, St-Sauveur
Mixed media and drawing with artist Caroline Archambault, St-Sauveur
Visual expression and creativity workshops with artist Renée Noreau, St-Sauveur
Abstract expression and movements workshop with artist Riverin, Pierrefonds
Private oil painting classes with painter Raymond Roy, St-Hippolyte
Avanced acrylic courses on canvas at the Petite École. St-Sauveur
Workshops on Mixed media with Linda Lock, Vancouver
Intensive acrylic workshop with artist Lise Auger, Sainte-Agathe
Mixed media workshops with Denise Lefebvre, Sainte-Dorothée
Acrylic painting on wood, Sainte-Dorothée

Featured Artist, Artsy Shark, April 2020
Best Emerging Abstract and Contemporary Artist of the Year, Folio Annual, April 2020
Honorable Mention, Artist of the Year, Circle Foundation For the Arts, 2019;
Best Global Quality Abstract Art, Césure International Competition, 2019;
Artsy Shark, Summer Showcase Artist Feature, August 2019
The Gold brush at the Annual Exhibition in Mirabel, 2018;
3rd place at the Annual Exhibition at the St-Faustin Culture Centre, 2017
2nd place at the Annual Exhibition of Blainville-Art, 2016

Invitational

2024, 2023, 2022 – Big Ideas Show Spring and Fall, Paula White-Diamond Gallery, Waterloo, ON
2022 – Contemporary Abstraction, Moberg Gallery, Iowa, USA
2022 – Square Foot Show, Paula White-Diamond Gallery, Waterloo, ON
2021 – Summer Group Show, Moberg Gallery, Iowa, USA
2021 – Summer Invitational Group Show, Red Sheep Gallery, New York, USA
2021 – Spring Invitational Group Show, Red Sheep Gallery, New York, USA
2021 – Contemporary Women Paint: Abstract Expressions, Moberg Gallery, Iowa, USA
2021 – Diverse Voices, Artists of the Artist’s Voice, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
2020 – Group Christmas Show, Moberg Gallery, Iowa, USA
Dec 2019 - Feb 2020 Christmas Group Show, Moberg Art Gallery, Iowa, USA
Sept- Oct 2019 Kicking Abstract and Taking Names, Moberg Art Gallery, Iowa, USA

Solo
2018 – Abstract Expressionism, Cailuan Art Gallery, Cornwall, Ontario
2018 – Exposition Notre point de vue n’est qu’une réalité. Gare de Piedmont
2017 – Exposition Regarde-moi, je suis là, St-Faustin Culture, Québec
2017 – Exposition Langage abstrait, St-Hippolyte Library, Québec
Jury Selected Exhibitions
2019 – Small Works Exhibition, Vancouver Arts Gallery, 1241 Cartwright, Granville Island, Vancouver, British Columbia;
2018 – Mascouche Arts Festival;
2018 – 33e Visual Arts Exhibition, Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines;
2018, 2017 – Expo-auction FASS art Saint-Sauveur, Galerie Rod;
2018, 2017 – Expo-Concert in Mirabel;
2017 – Exposition Acquisition of permenant works for the city of Blainville, Blainville Art Gallery;
2017 – Exposition duo, Rendez-vous Art-thé, Salle polyvalente de la gare de Piedmont.
Group Exhibitions
2018, 2019 – Annual Exhibit and Art Contest, ALPAP.
2017, 2018 – Concours annuel, St-Faustin Culture Centre;
2017, 2018 – Accessible Art, St-Faustin Culture Centre;
2016 – 2019 – Annual Art Exhibit, Blainville-art, Blainville Art Gallery;
2016 – Exposition Un monde de couleurs, à la Galerie l’Artiste à Montréal;
2016 – Exposition with Renée Noreau, 5 couleurs, gare de Piedmont; and
2016 – Exposition Envolées artistiques de la Galerie ARTrium, Mirabel.

Paul Émile Borduas
Franz Kline
Pierre Soulanges
Jean Paul Riopelle
Marcelle Ferron

mixed media art, monochrome, acrylic painting, neutral, abstract, abstract expressionism