Métamorphose
2008
Etching                                             

Arthur Desmarteaux        
Residence: Montreal, Québec, Canada
Birthplace: Montreal, Québec, Canada

My principal inspiration in the art world derives from the Pop Art Movement of the sixties, and the ‘figuration narrative’, a current that appeared in the eighties. I also enjoy ‘art brut’, or Outsider Art, and the naivety found in children’s drawings. Jean Dubuffet, Gilbert & George, and the Clayton Brothers, are some of the artists whom inspire my creations. My subjects are taken from everyday life in the city, the pictures broadcast by mass-media, the graphic style of retro video games, theatre plays, biology, and history of cinema, among others.

My artworks are made from automatic drawings, dreams and memories, forming a sense of nostalgia. Animated movies and the underground comic book scene are important sources of inspirations for the fantasy images I create. Part of my artistic research includes the creation of graphic novels. My works are often socially engaging, and showcase humorous and playful content. I prefer vivid colors and crazy pictures. I have a special taste for the bizarre, the surreal, and the absurd. I often listen of gypsy music while creating, and I think it influences the spirit of my drawings.

I make large format paintings from series of automatic drawings that I use as sketches. I then place these paintings in the context of installations that integrate photography, ceramics, and video.

In the last two years, my practice has mostly concentrated on print-based mediums, as I am an active member of Graff studios in Montreal. In the near future, I will use silkscreen techniques on canvas in order to make my next large format painting, entitled ’The End of the Road’. I am also in the process of developing another puppet show for the 2008 edition of the Montreal Fringe festival, drawing a second comic book, and continuing printing with the photo-lithography, woodcut, and etching techniques.

Arthur Desmarteaux [Étienne Rochon] was born in 1979 in Montréal, Québec, Canada, and is a recent administrative member of ARPRIM, in Montréal, Québec, Canada.

Education
Waterless Lithography & Photo-lithography Courses, Graff Studios, Montréal, Québec, Canada
Ceramics Course, Concordia University,
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Visual Arts, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada [1999–2003; Université de Montréal Welcoming Grant]
College Diploma, Human Sciences, Collège Édouard-Montpetit, Longueuil, Québec, Canada

2009
Solo Exhibition, Martha Street Studio, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Two-person Exhibition [with Allison Moore], Centre d’expostion de Augustin-Chénier, Ville-Marie, Québec, Canada
Two-person Exhibition [with Allison Moore], Centre d’expostion de Rouyn-Noranda, Québec, Canada
Two-person Exhibition [with Allison Moore], Galerie d’art de Sutton, Québec, Canada
Exposition à la Maison de la culture Pointe-aux-Trembles, Pointe-aux-Trembles, Québec, Canada

2008
Solo Exhibition, La maison des artistes francophones, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Solo Exhibition, Exhibiting at: Presse Papier Gallery, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada; & La
Maison des artistes Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Two-person Exhibition [with Allison Moore], Centre d’expostion de Augustin-Chénier, Ville-Marie, Québec, Canada
‘Naestved International Exhibition of Contemporary Mini Square Prints’, grafisk vaerksted\NAESTVED The Print Studio, Roennebaeksholm Arts & Culture Center, Naestved, Denmark
‘Paper Politics’, Dowd Art Gallery, State University of New York-Courtland, United States
‘Paper Politics’, Red House Gallery, Syracuse, New York, United States

2007
Solo Exhibition, SODAC Gallery, Longueuil, Québec, Canada
Solo Exhibition, Divan Orange, Montréal, Québec, Canada
Solo Residency Exhibition, Queen Street Studios, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Two-person Exhibition, Trianon gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
XIIIe Biennale Internationale de la Gravure et des Nouvelles Images de Sarcelles, Espace Champ de Foire, Sarcelles, France
Group Exhibition, Usine 106U, Montréal, Québec, Canada
‘Paper Politics’, Montréal Art & Anarchy, Montréal, Québec, Canada
‘Paper Politics’, Walker’s Point Art Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
6e La Biennale internationale d’estampe contemporaine de Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada