His works, rich in contrasts of color, texture, and pattern, create visual ecosystems that engage in dialogue with one another and with the exhibition space. Refusing to confine himself to the flat surface of the canvas, the artist extends his work into the gallery, where painting unfolds within the scenography.

Through this approach, Denis transforms our perception of the limits of painting and the exhibition space, while offering a reflection on the history of abstraction through key works from the Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke’s collection.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born in Sherbrooke in 1970, Jean-Sébastien Denis is a visual artist who lives and works in Montreal and the Eastern Townships, where he teaches painting at the Université de Sherbrooke. Represented by Galerie Simon Blais for twenty years, he has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Montreal, Toronto, Nova Scotia, and the United States. In 2018, his work was the subject of a major retrospective at Maison de la culture Claude-Léveillée.

Denis has received grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. His works are part of several public collections (Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Loto-Québec, Hydro-Québec) and corporate collections (National Bank of Canada, Transcontinental Group). He has also created about ten public art commissions under Quebec’s policy for integrating art into architecture. His most significant projects include Ascension for Université du Québec en Outaouais in Saint-Jérôme (2012); Prisme, a work of 54 canvases for the McGill University Health Centre (2014); a mural titled Hommage à Marcelle Ferron at the Centre communautaire intergénérationnel d’Outremont (2020); Kyrielle, a series of works installed on the SRB Pie IX stations of the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain in Montreal and Laval (2022); as well as six works in Quebec schools.

The artist has continued his exploration of space through three installation-based exhibitions: Shapé at Maison de la culture Janine-Sutto (2019), Extensions, décalages et propos ambigus sur la plasticité (2017) at Galerie Simon Blais, and his most ambitious project, Pièces at the Centre d’art Jacques et Michel Auger, resulting from an in situ residency.