Étienne Gélinas

BIOGRAPHY: 

Born in Maniwaki (Québec), Etienne Gélinas pursued college education in “visual and
media arts” at the Collège de l’Outaouais in Gatineau, followed by a Bachelor’s degree
in art and design (BA) from École Multidisciplinaire de l’Image in 2006, and later
graduated with a master’s degree in project management (MPM) from the UQO in 2012,
and also a Master in visual art (MA) with distinction from the UQO in 2015. He has
staged numerous solo exhibitions, including at AxeNeo7, at the Art-Image and Espace
Odysée galleries of the Maison de la Culture de Gatineau, at the D’Avignon Gallery in
Montréal, at the St-Laurent+Hill Gallery in Ottawa, at the Galerie Montcalm of the Maison
du Citoyen de Gatineau, at the Thompson Landry Gallery in Toronto, at the Lanlande &
Doyle Gallery of the Shenkman Arts Centre in Ottawa, at The CACPC of Chelsea, at the
Centre d’exposition de Val-d’Or as well at the Galerie d’art d’Outremont.

artistic approach: 

My research focuses on the ambiguity of codes and language systems in a semiotic space, in
painting today. It is a reflection on the duality of plastic and scientific codes, and on the concept
of space and the paradoxical aspect that emerges. I endeavor to link systems, to make them
coexist and dialogue. The result generates an interaction between artistic forms and
representations of scientific languages.
Different languages become one within the same space.
Space and architecture are central concepts of my approach. Space presents itself abstractly
through a detachment of the plans, an overlap of delineated areas, and assemblies of multipoint
perspectives which dig into the surface of the painting to give it a sense of depth. An objectively
two dimensional space, that becomes three-dimensional rather subjectively through our
interpretation of the codes that are presented.
The compositions suggest continuity of the image beyond its physical limits. An approach that
helps to highlight the notion of space in my work and which implicitly refers us to the world of
cinema and photography by including the concept of framing.
The glossy and glazed finish of some areas in my paintings is reminiscent of the screen by its
transparency. The screen is probably what best represents the transformation of our
technological culture, propelling us into a new age of “écranique” (screen) prosthesis. This
appendix has become, increasingly, that through which we see and transform our environment.
By their ubiquity, screens redefine our space references. The multiple screens within our
environments profoundly alter the sensitive area we are able to perceive and our perception of
the still image.