Yvan Genest

BIOGRAPHY: 

Born in Montreal, Yvan Genest has devoted his life to painting for 40 years. His career has unconventional beginnings: as a songwriter, musician and singer, he toured Europe for many years, until he discovered painting, which offered him an unexpected terrain for his creation. Subsequently, Yvan successfully lived, worked and exhibited his works attracting a growing circle of collectors in Paris, Montreal, Seattle, Los Angeles and Puerto Vallarta. He explored many mediums (watercolor, acrylic, pastel, tempera, oil, engraving, screen printing, linocut, woodcut and digital art) and developed a unique and bold symbolism. His influences are diverse, ranging from Mexican popular culture to neoexpressionism, including new free figuration and art brut.

Yvan Genest divides his time between his studios in Montreal and Puerto Vallarta, multiplying exhibitions and artistic performances in Quebec and abroad.

artistic approach: 

“The characters in my paintings, I don’t choose them. They impose themselves like actors on a stage. The subject of the play is unknown to me, I act more as a costume designer than a playwright. Like ours on Earth, the passage of these beings in my paintings is a mystery. They exist through their poetry and possess the aura of talismans. In the studio, painting decides for me, because it is spiritual. »