Pierre Ayot

Pierre Ayot (June 26, 1943 – May 2, 1995) was a multidisciplinary artist, university professor and the founder of Atelier Libre 848 (renamed Atelier Graff in 1970), an art centre devoted to printmaking that provides its members with training, expertise and facilities. He also was a founding member of the group Média, gravures et multiples (1969). Ayot also was a member of the GWC Screen Shop and made prints in Winnipeg.

Career Ayot was born in Montreal and studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Montreal (1959–1962) and with Albert Dumouchel. He also taught there (1964), and at the Université du Québec, Montreal (1969–1995). In 1966 he founded and directed Atelier Libre 848, a printmaking workshop (known as Atelier Graff from 1970 on). He also was one of the founding members of the group Média, gravures et multiples,

He was guest artist at Centro Internazionale di Sperimentazione Artistiche Marie Louise Jeanneret, Boissano, Italy (1982–1983).

Work Ayot was one of the artists attracted to Pop art in Quebec, along with Serge Lemoyne, Edmund Alleyn and COZIC. Ayot's imagery at first drew upon comic strips and media culture, then celebrated everyday objects. Retrospectives of his works have been organized by the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal (MACM), Pierre Ayot: Le médium n'est pas le message (1980) and by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Pierre Ayot: Hors cadre(s) = Pierre Ayot: Unlimited (2001). In 1992, Pierre Ayot et son Museum Circus was organized by the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. In 2016, Pierre Ayot - Regard critique / Pierre Ayot - Critical Insight, along with several other exhibitions examined the whole of the artist’s career.

Selected public collections Ayot’s work is in the public art collections of the National Gallery of Canada; The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; the Remai Modern; the Winnipeg Art Gallery; and the Tate Gallery, London; among others. The work of Pierre Ayot is represented by Graff Gallery, Montreal.

Awards Annual Exhibition of Graphic Art in Calgary (1965, 1967);

Legacy Prix Pierre-Ayot, created in Ayot's memory by the City of Montreal and the Contemporary Art Galleries Association (AGAC) is awarded each year to an emerging artist. The Graff Prize is awarded by Graff annually to a mid-career artist practicing in the fields of engraving or printmaking. In 2024, his work was included in The Pop of Life! at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

Atelier Graff Atelier Graff is today a contemporary art centre with an active membership. In 2015, it joined with the Société d'habitation et de développement de Montréal (SHDM) to offer professional artists and crafts workers customized work premises.