 Mélodie Pure,
1954 oil on canvas panel, 12" × 16" |
 RL-55-15,
1955 casein on paper, 9¼" × 11¼" |
 RL-55-16,
1955 casein on paper, 10" × 10" |
 RL-54-30,
1954 pastel on paper, 6" × 9" |
 RL-57-10,
1957 ink on paper, 11.75" × 9" |
 RL-57-18,
1957 ink on paper, 12" × 9" |
 RL-60-10,
1960 casein on paper, 4.5" × 5.75" |
 Caravane,
1961 gouache on paper, 12" × 16" |
 RL-61-10,
1961 pastel on paper, 7" × 10" |
 RL-61-15,
1961 casein on paper, 9" × 12" |
 Un monde en fête,
1962 casein on paper, 9" × 12" |
 Tristesse,
1961 casein on paper, 15" × 18" |
 RL-62-20,
1962 ink on paper, 6.25" × 9.5" |
 RL-62-16, 1962 ink on paper, 9.25" × 12.5" |
 RL-62-10,
1962 gouache on paper, 9" × 12" |
 Obstruction Totale,
1966 acrylic on canvas, 40" × 48" |
 Système Astral,
1966 acrylic on canvas, 30" × 24" |
 Zerdi, 1972 acrylic on canvas, 60" × 50" |
 Lodestar Trail,
1969 acrylic on canvas, 39½" × 32¾" |
  Sekani, 1978 acrylic on canvas, 30" × 48" |
 Hayam, 1974 acrylic on canvas, 36" × 72" |
 Zahav, 1972 acrylic on canvas, 48" x 72 3/4" |
 Echoes, 1987 oil on canvas, 48" × 72" |
 Summer's Flight,
1998 oil on paper, 20" × 26" |
 Un Matin de printemp,
2009 oil on canvas, 36" × 60" |
 L'eveil du printemps,
2004 oil on canvas, 60" × 54" |
 Victory in a Gray World,
2006 oil on canvas, 30" × 36" |
 The Sign of the Samurai,
2006 oil on canvas, 30" × 48" |
 Ancient Memories,
2007 oil on canvas, 30" × 48" |
 Burning Stars,
2007 oil on canvas, 30" × 40" |
 Morning of the Gods,
2007 oil on canvas, 60" × 48" |
 Jour de fête,
2003 oil on canvas, 24" × 30" |
 Silent Echo II, 1968 serigraph, 25.75" × 20" |
Rita Letendre – Artist Biography
The bold dashes of colour present in the recent works of Rita Letendre recall her apprenticeship at the Ecole de beaux-arts, during which Paul-Emile Borduas, Jean-Paul Mousseau and Marcelle Ferron were in the midst of their revolution, distributing pamphlets announcing where their paintings could be seen. It was at these stimulating exhibitions that Letendre discovered the possibilities of her own art. "Then we discovered our contemporaries,” she explains. "People with whom we would develop our talents. For me there was Ulysse Comtois . . . Gilles Groux, the filmmaker among others. I was convinced that I was going to revolutionize the universe, and all my friends thought the same about themselves."
Since her first exhibitions with the Automatistes in 1952 and 1953, many of Letendre's paintings have featured a headstrong, upward reach - a telling visual metaphor for the artist's own restless sense of self-discovery. An early solo show at the Here and Now Gallery in Toronto was reviewed by Robert Fulford, who remarked how Letendre "works in the roughest, widest of strokes, she builds up the paint in thick crusts and her colour is often used violently . . . the blunt composition works perfectly as an expression of intransigent and genuinely original personality.
It is not surprising that Letendre, forever in search of new forms of art-making, has painted in many different countries, including, Paris, Italy, Israel, Spain, Belgium, Germany, New York and Los Angeles. Possessing an insatiable hunger for new experiences, she describes her art as "mass and force in action . . . the force of life is marvelous to me. We see the same force in the sea, the sun, all around us. It is the same strength that makes human beings dream - to want to go to the moon - to accomplish the impossible."
The works of Rita Letendre can be found in many public and private collections including the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Gallery of Canada, Musée d'Art Contemporain Montreal, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Musée du Quebec and the Vancouver Art Gallery.
She was recently awarded the 2010 Governor General's Award in Visual Arts.
Gallery Gevik Exhibitions
 |
Rita Letendre Harmony of Marriage and Art June 25th to July 15th, 2016 (image: Untitled, 1982 & Obstruction Totale) |
Daphne
Odjig, Canadian Indigenous Artist and Icon Dies at 97.
Alex
Janvier's major retrospective, "Alex Janvier: Modern Indigenous Master" is now open at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario until January 21st, 2018. Afterwards, it will travel to the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton and the Glenbow Museum in Calgary.
Gallery Gevik
congratulates renowned Canadian and International abstract painter, Rita Letendre, on her first
major museum retrospective exhibition outside of Québec. Rita Letendre: Fire and
Light is now open until September 17, 2017 at the Art Gallery of Ontario.