Jean-Paul Mousseau

Jean-Paul Mousseau (January 1, 1927 – February 7, 1991) was a Quebec artist. He was a student of Paul-Émile Borduas, a member of the Automatist group and a founding member of The Non-Figurative Artists' Association of Montreal.

Career Jean-Paul Mousseau was born in Montreal and studied painting there at the College Notre-Dame at the age of thirteen, Interior Decoration at the École du Meuble (1945–1946); and painting with Paul-Émile Borduas (1946–1951). He first exhibited his work in 1944, after joining the Contemporary Art Society and as a member of the Automatistes, in the first Automatist exhibition in 1946. In 1948, he was one of the signatories of the Refus global manifesto. In 1953 he was an exhibitor in Les Automatistes at the Place des Arts, Montreal, and in 1955 his painting La Marseillaise won first prize in the Winnipeg Art Show (it was one of two first prizes).

By 1955, Mousseau was exhibiting work similar in aims to Les Plasticiens, a group of artists who had broken away from Les Automatistes to achieve effects through tone, texture, form and line in highly ordered paintings characteristic of the de Stijl group. He exhibited this work in "Espace 55" at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in 1955. In 1956, he was one of the founders of The Non-Figurative Artists' Association of Montreal. In 1957, he began exploring new materials such as coloured resin and fibreglass. ). He participated in many group shows nationally and internationally including the First Biennial of Canadian Painting (1955); the exhibition of Canadian art at the Canadian Pavilion, Brussels International Exposition, Belgium (1958); as a guest exhibitor of Painters 11 (1958), and in many others. He also designed costumes, posters, scenery and lighting for many important productions of the theatre. His work is included in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; and the Musée d'art contemporain, among others. and Marcelle Ferron's stained glass at Champ-de-Mars).

Mousseau took over as art director after LaPalme, and his influence marked the rest of the network. Most of the artwork was planned in accordance with the architects, and many were by the architects themselves. Works by Mousseau in the metro include the mural Opus 74 at Viau station, two murals at Honoré-Beaugrand, and a mural at Square-Victoria. He also created some sculptural lighting elements in the concert-hall of the Orford Arts Centre, in collaboration with the designer Léonard Garneau, who was in charge of the interior design of the centre. His work is integral to Montreal's airport and several of its skyscrapers.

Exhibitions 1945: Montreal Museum of Fine Art 1983: "Association of Non-Figurative Artists of Montreal", Concordia University 1997: "Mousseau", Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal