Biographie - Claude Arseneault
Since 2008 my art practice, mainly in printmaking gravitates from the observation of the cold inside, to larger views of ice and snow outside. Images on the accumulation and removal of snow are metaphors for repetition, resistance and submission. My process transforms original photographic capture using scans, digital reworking, photo etching, and traditional etching techniques. Some work explores the juxtaposition of digital and traditional printing processes. In traditional printmaking, the reproducibility of the printed element takes the form of multiple identical prints constituting the edition. Since 2010 my work in print explores the reproducible matrix as a means to create installation work. In 2012, Couche de neige à emporter, a cube of black paper printed with white dots, invited the viewer to participate and take a snow layer. In 2013, a print based installation work, Nouvel Elan, exhibited at la Maison de la Culture Plateau-Mont-Royal, turned a chair upside down creating a functional swing using silkscreen. The swing engaged the viewer in a physical experience with the artwork that departed from a simple appreciation of aesthetic qualities. In 2015, a three dimensional print work, Silence, codes et propriété, selected for an exhibition at theGalerie d’Art du Parc in Trois-Rivières expressed a continued interest in 3D print based work. The public’s response to Nouvel Élan motivates me to further explore the contribution of the viewer, beyond that of a visual appreciation. I am presently working on an installation piece, exploring the notions of home and artist studio, in which the viewer will be invited to explore. What follows is a selection of accomplishments in my art carreer.
I curated the exhibition entitled Book: Artwork, shown at the Warren G. Flowers Art Gallery of Dawson College in 2008. In 2009, my work was selected for the 14th International Biennial of original prints in Sarcelles, France, and in 2012 for the Okanagan Print Triennial and shown at the Kelowna Art Gallery. In 2009 I received a residency from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette where I editioned a print for Marais Press. Identités Multiples, the result of a residency and collective art project at l’Atelier Graff, was exhibited in 2012 at la Maison de la Culture Plateau-Mont-Royal, and the Warren G. Flowers Gallery. I have been an active artist member of two artist-run centres, Atelier Graff and Arprim, acting as administrator, president and vice president. I completed my graduate degree at McGill University and teach in the Visual Art Department at Dawson College, Montreal. My work is part of the collection of L’institut Canadien de Québec, l’artothèque de la bibliothèque Gabrielle-Roy. I continue to attend workshops on traditional printmaking and digital imaging in Quebec and the USA which inform my research and art practice.