Louis Jaque

Early Life and Artistic Training

Louis Jaque was born in Montreal, Canada, in 1919. His path toward a life of making images began in earnest after he completed his army service. In 1944, he picked up a brush and started the practice of painting, a direction that would define his subsequent years.

He sought formal instruction at the Ecole du Meuble, where he worked to earn his diploma. During his time there, he studied under the guidance of Jean Paul Lemieux and Paul-Emile Borduas. These years of study provided the foundation for the technical skills he would later apply to his various pursuits in painting, printmaking, and furniture design.

Technique and Style

By the 1950s, his work moved away from representation toward a non-figurative language. This shift was not a sudden burst of emotion, but a disciplined exploration of structure. His approach to abstraction was rigorous and almost mathematical, seeking to map the invisible forces that govern the universe. Rather than relying on spontaneous gestures, he built compositions that felt calculated and reflected, as if tracing the underlying logic of a physical law.

His canvases often deal with the unseen: the movement of waves, the flow of energy, and the specific quality of light found in the cosmos. This interest in the mechanics of existence drew heavily from science, astronomy, and the structural principles of architecture. He looked toward the stars and the fundamental patterns of nature to find a sense of universal harmony, attempting to organize the chaos of the world into a visible, ordered system.

The precision of his method allowed him to translate complex concepts into a distinct visual rhythm. His work often features:

• Parametric Radiances
• Parametric Module
• Rythmopée nº 1

Major Commissions and Public Works

His work often moved beyond the scale of a single canvas to meet the architecture of public spaces. In 1970, he created a monumental mural for the Quebec pavilion at the Osaka Universal Exhibition in Japan. This large-scale undertaking required a different kind of presence than his smaller studies, engaging directly with the scale of an international exhibition. Later, in 1972, he produced a mural for the Maison de Radio-Canada (CBC) on René-Lévesque Boulevard in Montreal. This work was composed of two triptychs on canvas that occupied two large wall surfaces, remaining part of the building's interior for five decades before being donated to the CHUM.

His influence extended into the organizational structures of the local art scene. He was a co-founder of the Association des artistes non-figuratifs de Montréal (AANFM) alongside Fernand Leduc. In 1969, he also became a founding member of the Société des Artistes Professionnels du Québec (SAPQ), serving as its first president. These roles helped shape the way non-figurative art was organized and recognized in Quebec during a period of significant transition.

Where to See His Works Today

His paintings and prints have traveled far beyond the borders of Quebec. You can find his work in various private and public collections across Canada, France, Italy, and the United States. In Canada, several institutions hold pieces that reflect his interest in the structures of the universe. The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa maintains two of his works, while the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art also keeps his pieces in its collection. Other Canadian locations include the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, New Brunswick, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Sherbrooke, the Musée d'art de Joliette, and the Musée Laurier.

The physical presence of his art often moves through different spaces. Some of his large-scale works have been part of the environment in public buildings, such as the Maison de Radio-Canada. One such work was recently moved to the CHUM to be part of the hospital's public space. This movement shows how his art can transition from large architectural settings into different types of communal environments.