THE ARTISTS
Curriculum vitæ of Kittie Bruneau
Born in 1929, this Montreal artist`s journey is impressive and fascinating. After completing her studies in drawing at l’École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal (1946 – 1949) with fellow artist Ghitta Caiserman-Roth and a year in painting at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts School of Arts, she leaves Québec in 1950 to attend the Académie Julian in Paris. There, she becomes familiar with many artistic currents, including dance.
The artistic evolution of Bruneau and the place it occupies in our collective memory is particular. Her paintings and prints are lyrical, colourful and lively. Her strong interest for dance, native practices and oriental philosophy has led her to travel in many countries. One recognises in her work the perpetual search for identity, as well as a constant preoccupation for the human condition.
Since 1956, Kittie Bruneau has taken part in over fifty solo exhibitions and about one hundred group exhibitions around the world and has worked on many murals, videos and artist books. She's been awarded bursaries by the Ministère des affaires culturelles du Québec and the Canada Council for the Arts. Her art figures in numerous private and public collections, such as the Musée des Beaux-Arts du Québec, the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as the Pratt & Whitney and Loto-Québec collection.
Her vision is very personal and doesn't adhere to any trends or tendencies in contemporary art. Full of lively colors, her work is fraught with symbols and legends and the world of childhood is cradled within. In time, her work has also become political, dealing with harsh subjects like violence and poverty. ''I paint the world as I see it,'' she explains ''it often shocks me.''
More often then not, Kittie paints on the floor, bare foot, in carnal contact with the paint. She expresses great liberty in her work which fearlessly disregards the norm.
Solo Exhibitions
2004 Kittie Bruneau universelle, Maison des arts, Laval
2003 Galerie Clair Obscur
Galerie Jean-Claude Bergeron, Ottawa
2002 Musée Le Chafaud, Percé
Vieux Presbytère, Saint-Bruno
Galerie d’art d’Outremont
2001 Centre d’exposition de Rouyn-Noranda
2000 Maison de la culture Rosemont - Petite-Patrie
1999 Exposition à caractère rétrospectif, Centre d’exposition du Vieux-Palais,
Saint-Jérôme
Galerie Estampe Plus, Québec
Galerie Didactart, Montréal
Bibliothèque nationale du Québec, L’œuvre gravé
1996 Galerie L’œil du 8, Paris, France
Group Exhibitions
2003 L’école des jeunes, Musée d’Arts de Joliette
La valise, Praxis, Galerie Hanovre, Sherbrooke
Les 30 ans de la collection du Musée de Rimouski, Rimouski
2002 Témoins du 20e siècle, Chapelle du Bon-Pasteur, Montréal
Matières et manières, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Sherbrooke
10 x 10 x 10 x 10 Coffrets de gravures, Galerie Jean-Claude Bergeron, Ottawa
Champ libre, Centre d’exposition du Vieux-Palais, Saint-Jérôme
1999 Du paysage dans la collection, Musée de Rimouski
Espace Lyonnais, Art contemporain, Lyon, France
La collection du Musée du Québec, 1990-2000, Québec
1998 Peinture, peinture, Édifice Belgo, Montréal et Musée de Rimouski
L’abécédaire du Musée, Musée d’art contemporain, Montréal
Pluralité, Exposition itinérante à travers le Québec
Tondo Tondi, Maison de la culture Marie Uguay, Montréal
Les Femmeuses, Pratt & Whitney, Canada
Temps composés, Musée de Joliette
Kaléidoscope, A.R.C., Palais Montcalm, Québec
Prints types Indians Hills, C.C. Ottunwa, Iowa, USA
World Print Survey, Truman State, Université Kersville, Missouri, USA
1997 Zilon Québec, Livre d’art, Bibliothèque nationale, Montréal
Œuvres vives, Université du Québec à Montréal
Collection de la Banque Nationale, exposition itinérante à travers le Québec
Les Femmeuses, Pratt & Whitney, Canada
1996 L’art québécois de l’estampe 1945 à 1990, Musée du Québec
Consortium Prints, Missouri Western State, Collège Saint-Joseph, USA
Women Printmakers, Central College, Pella, Iowa, USA