Guy Vézina

Guy Vézina was born in Montréal in 1961. He trained as an occupational therapist in Kingston Ontario and moved to the Atlantic Provinces in 1986 to work as a therapist and explore the area. He and his spouse settled in Fredericton in 1995.

A life-long art lover, Guy had always drawn and in 1984 he moved from pencil to pastels. In 1987/8, when he took the next step in his development into oil painting, this hobby began to assume greater proportions. Guy began exhibiting works in galleries while living in St-John's NL and started taking part in group shows at Gallery 78 in 1997.

Since 2005, Guy has shared studio space at the Charlotte Street Art Centre. He works in oils, pastels and ink. He is interested in the human figure and in the perception of the natural world. His works can be considered symbolic studies from the viewpoint of a human in the world, or simply as portraits of the picturesque.

Artist Statement

I tend to think in images, that is probably why drawing and painting have always been a part of my life. In childhood I developed a fascination with the various plays of light and shadow and it still persists to this day. I love the colours it creates.

Painting is partly one of my ways of learning, of journaling, of sharing, and my form of praise. I seek a balance between controlled and loose marks, thus allowing unconscious elements to spring forth in my paintings. I love works of art where the texture and application of the media is revealed while being integral to the imagery as a whole. For me, Art is the expression of the human soul, its language.

Inspiration comes from many different directions. At times something seen strikes the desire to visually understand it and express what is felt as striking. Then there is an idea, a dream, a memory, or a visual flash, and I work it out through sketches and various photographic sources. Other times, a painting starts from a pattern I see in random marks of leftover paints from my palette.

Guy Vézina, CV