Summer Exhibitions in Baie St. Paul | Jennifer Noxon
Summer Exhibitions i Baie St. Paul Museum of Contemporary Art in Quebec
Karine Locatelli
On our recent camping trip on the north shore above Quebec City, which was primarily spent in the wilderness, we decided to spend a day in the mighty little town of Baie St. Paul.
This town is well-known for its ability to draw creatives and tourists alike. It is situated in the stunning Charlevoix region of Quebec, on the St. Lawrence with La Riviere Gouffre meandering through it.
We spent some time strolling along the main street which is dotted with commercial galleries and shops. At the far end of the main street is the Musée d'art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul. It is small but mighty, well-designed, and humble with well-considered accessible interior spaces. It had an informal but elegant feel.
More about this museum can be found here.
There were three shows: Karine Locatelli, René Richard, and Flora, a curated group exhibit featuring Yvonne Bolduc, Renée Lavaillante, Monique Mongeau, Josiane Roberge, and Olivier Roberge. All of the shows drew inspiration from the natural world, but each individual’s lens was unique. Karine Locatelli’s detailed pen and ink landscapes of rocks and plants on bare canvas were understated and mesmerizing. René Richard (1895 - 1982) was an accomplished local artist who left hundreds of drawings and paintings that captured remote landscapes along with trappers, prospectors, First Nations and Inuit people who lived and worked in these wilderness areas. Richard captured scenes with energetic lines in rich colours and black and white, often using brown paper as his ground. I felt that some of his work had a similar energy to Vincent Van Gogh’s.
Though we had left the wildness of our travels for an urban environment, we continued to be entranced and seduced by the beauty of the natural world thanks to these artists and their work. It was a compelling and inspiring day trip. Jennifer Noxon