A multi-disciplinary artist, Dominique Desbiens starts in 1990’s in Montreal with cartoons by directing several publishing projects. He also works in illustration and design through the graphic conception of posters, book covers, record sleeves and editorial illustrations. In 2007, he publishes an art and poetry book “Il manque aux humains un prédateur” (Humans Need a Predator), in which his drawings, photographs, paintings, sculptures and murals illustrate his views. His journeys as a painter evolves through many exhibits and other events, including large scale public performances and live painting.
Published by Glénat Québec, Bruno Rouyère’s graphic novel entitled Charlebois et l’Osstidgang celebrates the artists involved in the renowned Osstidcho (including a special tribute to Réjean Ducharme’s L’Avalée des avalés).
Artwork description
This new mural pays tribute to the Montreal cartoonist Michel Rabagliati. It is part of the collection “Les bâtisseur-es culturels-les montréalais-es”, initiated by MU in 2010, which aims to highlight the invaluable contribution of the city’s creators in various artistic disciplines.
This will be the first mural of this collection in the discipline of comics. Reproduced from a sketch designed by the cartoonist, the work is created by the two artists Dominique Desbiens et Bruno Rouyère on the building of his very first apartment, where he gave life to his famous character: PAUL. It refers to the birth of this character and to the comic book “Paul en appartement”, published in 2004 by Éditions de La Pastèque. Although original, the work gives the impression of being taken from one of the author’s albums and represents the ties between Paul and Lucie in the Plateau Mont-Royal neighborhood.
During the creation of the mural, youth workshops were organized during the Montreal comic arts festival.
Rarely has an author demonstrated such an exceptional contribution to the influence of Quebec culture in the last decade as Michel Rabagliati. His autobiographical comic book series, Paul, which began in 1999 and now has 10 volumes, paints a vast portrait of Montreal’s identity through its values, its language and its territory. Translated into seven languages and awarded numerous prizes both in Canada and abroad, his albums have definitely put Quebec’s 9th art on the international scene. In 2022, he won the Prix Athanase-David des Prix du Québec.