Rita Letendre
Mélodie Pure
Mélodie Pure, 1954
oil on canvas panel, 12" × 16"
Untitled/Sans Titre RL55-15
RL-55-15, 1955
casein on paper, 9¼" × 11¼"
RL-55-16
RL-55-16, 1955
casein on paper, 10" × 10"
RL-54-30
RL-54-30, 1954
pastel on paper, 6" × 9"
RL-57-10
RL-57-10, 1957
ink on paper, 11.75" × 9"
RL-57-18
RL-57-18, 1957
ink on paper, 12" × 9"
RL-60-10
RL-60-10, 1960
casein on paper, 4.5" × 5.75"
Caravane
Caravane, 1961
gouache on paper, 12" × 16"
RL-61-10
RL-61-10, 1961
pastel on paper, 7" × 10"
RL-61-15
RL-61-15, 1961
casein on paper, 9" × 12"
Un monde en fête
Un monde en fête, 1962
casein on paper, 9" × 12"
Tristesse
Tristesse, 1961
casein on paper, 15" × 18"
Untitled #20
RL-62-20, 1962
ink on paper, 6.25" × 9.5"
Untitled (1962)
RL-62-16, 1962
ink on paper, 9.25" × 12.5"
RL-62-10
RL-62-10, 1962
gouache on paper, 9" × 12"
Obstruction Totale
Obstruction Totale, 1966
acrylic on canvas, 40" × 48"
Système Astral
Système Astral, 1966
acrylic on canvas, 30" × 24"
Zerdi
Zerdi, 1972
acrylic on canvas, 60" × 50"
Lodestar Trail
Lodestar Trail, 1969
acrylic on canvas, 39½" × 32¾"
Sekanisold
Sekani, 1978
acrylic on canvas, 30" × 48"
Hayam
Hayam, 1974
acrylic on canvas, 36" × 72"
Zahavsold
Zahav, 1972
acrylic on canvas, 48" x 72 3/4"
Echoes
Echoes, 1987
oil on canvas, 48" × 72"
Summer's Flight
Summer's Flight, 1998
oil on paper, 20" × 26"
Un Matin de printemp
Un Matin de printemp, 2009
oil on canvas, 36" × 60"
L'eveil du printemps
L'eveil du printemps, 2004
oil on canvas, 60" × 54"
Victory in a Gray World
Victory in a Gray World, 2006
oil on canvas, 30" × 36"
The Sign of the Samurai
The Sign of the Samurai, 2006
oil on canvas, 30" × 48"
Ancient Memories
Ancient Memories, 2007
oil on canvas, 30" × 48"
Burning Stars
Burning Stars, 2007
oil on canvas, 30" × 40"
Morning of the Gods
Morning of the Gods, 2007
oil on canvas, 60" × 48"
Jour de fêtesold
Jour de fête, 2003
oil on canvas, 24" × 30"
Silent Echo II
Silent Echo II, 1968
serigraph, 25.75" × 20"

 

Slideshow

Rita Letendre – Artist Biography

Rita Letendre

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.

Click here to view a timeline database of her paintings.

Gallery Gevik Exhibitions

Rita Letendre
Harmony of Marriage and Art
June 25th to July 15th, 2016

(image: Untitled, 1982 & Obstruction Totale)

Gallery Gevik — info@gevik.com — Tel: 416-968-0901 — 12 Hazelton Ave, Toronto, Ontario, M5R 2E2, Canada

Copyright ©1999-2018 Gallery Gevik. All Rights Reserved.

Daphne OdjigDaphne Odjig, Canadian Indigenous Artist and Icon Dies at 97. Click here for more details.

Odjig is frequently referred to as the "Grandmother of Indigenous Art." She has been the recipient of many awards, honours and recognitions for her works, to name a few: The Order of Canada, the Governor General's Award, and eight Honorary Doctorates. Her works have been shown in the National Gallery of Canada, The McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Art Gallery of Ontario.


She established the first native-run fine art print house in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1971. Known as 'Odjig Indian Prints,' this print house was so successful that it evolved into an Indigenous gallery space in 1974, called the New Warehouse Gallery, run by Odjig and her husband, Chester Beavon. She was also a founding member of the Indian Group of Seven. This artistic group's purpose was to promote Contemporary Indigenous art and artists.

Alex JanvierAlex 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.

This exhibition was recently on display at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa and the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina. Alex Janvier is one of Canada's most acclaimed contemporary artists. His career of sixty-five years has yielded thousands of paintings, and more than twenty-five murals and public commissions. (Photo credit: Kim Griffiths)

Rita LetendreGallery 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.

This exhibition, which covers Letendre's career from the 1960's to 2000's, is co-curated by Wanda Nanibush and Georgiana Uhlyarik. The retrospective features nearly forty large-scale paintings drawn from major national public and private collections.

Letendre was widely exhibited with the artistic groups, Les Automatistes and Les Plasticiens. She has received the Governor General's Award in Visual Arts, the Prix Paul-Émile Borduas, and the Orders of Canada, Ontario and Québec. Click here for more details.