Patrick Coutu holds a bachelor’s degree in visual arts from the Université du Québec à Montréal (1997), and a master’s degree from the Glasgow School of Art (2003) and Concordia University (2005). Since 1997, his works have been featured in a number of exhibitions in Canada, including at Galerie René Blouin, the National Gallery of Canada (NGC), the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MACM), and the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBA), and abroad. His artworks are in public collections (MACM, MNBA, NGC, Ville de Montréal) and private collections.
Artwork description
Patrick Coutu’s work explores the precise scientific models underlying all organic matter, borrowing their structural principles and turning them into an aesthetic system. Not time-bound, but rather captured in the moment as it arrives, his sculptures emphasize the paradoxically controlled and chaotic evolution of all that is vegetable, mineral and numerical.
The shapes in each component of the garden come from mathematical equations modelling natural processes and engendering multiple complex figures. Thus, the garden is the result of work that is both artistic and scientific. It is given shape using classical and traditional bronze techniques, into which the artist breathes new life by using contemporary language. What’s more, because the work is installed outdoors, at the mercy of the elements, it will transform over time. The patina will continue to change, as will perceptions of the work over the course of the seasons, making it part of a constantly evolving backdrop. Le jardin du sculpteur is thus an organic and evolving work that’s nonetheless rooted in its time period.