Rose-Aimée Bélanger (1923-2023)

BIOGRAPHY: 

Rose-Aimée Bélanger exhibits her work in Montréal since 1995. She began her artistic formation at l’École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal in 1945. However, it was not until 30 years after, and 8 children later, that she finally began to sculpt and create full time. Rose-Aimée Bélanger’s inspiration comes from the simple moment of every day life. In her feminine sculptures, her "rondes" as she likes to call them, it is sight that's essential to their understanding and appreciation, as it will convey the essence of her works. The emotions are amplified by the sensuality of the curves and the heat from the bronze. There is a serenity surroundings Bélanger’s “rounds” ; they breath calmness allowing one to do the same in their presence. Rose-Aimée Bélanger sculptures are collected worldwide both privately and publicly. She was born in Guérin Qc in 1923. She currently lives and works in the northern part of Ontario.

artistic approach: 

After 25 years of fulfilling her roles as wife and mother, Rose-Aimée was finally able to fulfill her childhood dream of becoming an artist.

To this end, she took two courses in clay modeling in 1969 and 1970 with the late Madame Claude Papineau-Couture, who at the time was working with the Northern Ontario Artists' Cooperative (CANO). She also set up a small studio in the basement of her home.

Success was not long in coming, and within the first year she made her first sale to a private collector in Sudbury. During the '70s, she made several sales there, but soon realized that she couldn't keep up the momentum without outside help. She therefore decided to take advantage of her husband's regular trips to southern Ontario to contact various art galleries.

In the early '80s, after a dozen years of intense artistic creation, Rose-Aimée felt the need to explore new avenues. In fact, for the first twelve years, Rose-Aimée worked mainly on her forms, mounting her sculptures with colombins, and using as raw material stoneware with 25% grog, which she fired at high temperature to vitrify it.

In the early years, since stoneware lent itself well to her sculptural style, Rose-Aimée felt no need to question this choice. In fact, her first sculptures