{"id":37223523108,"date":"2019-01-30T12:59:04","date_gmt":"2019-01-30T17:59:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mcmichael1.wpenginepowered.com\/?post_type=tribe_events&p=37223523108"},"modified":"2025-12-31T10:49:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T15:49:42","slug":"rita-letendre-earth-wind-fire","status":"publish","type":"exhibition","link":"https:\/\/mcmichael.com\/fr\/exposition\/rita-letendre-earth-wind-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"Rita Letendre: Earth, Wind & Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Rita Letendre turned 90 this fall, and she remains one of the leading abstract artists in Canada, and a legendary icon for women artists. She is best known for her hard-edge abstract works from the 60s and 70s, some of which were presented as epic wall murals in public locations in Toronto. But her roots lie in Quebec, and in her student days at the \u00c9cole des beaux-arts where she, like Fran\u00e7oise Sullivan, was exposed to the example of Paul-Emile Borduas. The works gathered in this exhibition are from the late 50s and early 60s, and they spring from that transformative moment in Quebec culture. Unlike Sullivan, Letendre was not an official member of the Automatiste movement, but her impulse to embrace freedom of expression and tap into primal energy clearly mark her as a kindred spirit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Letendre grew up in Drummondville, Quebec, of mixed Abenaki and settler heritage, but it was her Abenaki grandmother, Marianna Ledoux, who she says really taught her how to live. Letendre remembers: \u201cIf there was a big storm she would take me out in the field in all the thunder and she would say \u2014 this is nature and it is beautiful. Don\u2019t be afraid.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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As an artist you must learn who you are, what life means to you and only then can you relate your findings to the rest of the universe. – Rita Letendre<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Aujourd\u2019hui \u00e2g\u00e9e de 90 ans, Rita Letendre demeure une des figures embl\u00e9matiques de l\u2019art abstrait au Canada et s\u2019impose comme un mod\u00e8le pour les femmes artistes. Elle est surtout connue pour ses \u0153uvres \u00ab hard-edge \u00bb des ann\u00e9es 1960 et 1970, dont certaines grandes fresques publiques r\u00e9alis\u00e9es \u00e0 Toronto. D\u2019origine qu\u00e9b\u00e9coise, \u00e0 l\u2019instar de Fran\u00e7oise Sullivan, elle \u00e9tudie \u00e0 l\u2019\u00c9cole des beaux-arts de Montr\u00e9al et subit l\u2019influence de Paul-\u00c9mile Borduas. Les \u0153uvres r\u00e9unies dans cette exposition datent de la fin des ann\u00e9es 1950 et du d\u00e9but des ann\u00e9es 1960, et s\u2019inscrivent dans le cadre du tournant culturel de la soci\u00e9t\u00e9 qu\u00e9b\u00e9coise. \u00c0 la diff\u00e9rence de Sullivan, elle ne compte pas parmi les membres officiels des Automatistes, mais sa qu\u00eate de libert\u00e9 d\u2019expression et d\u2019\u00e9nergie \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9tat brut l\u2019apparente n\u00e9anmoins au mouvement.<\/span><\/p>\n

N\u00e9e d\u2019une m\u00e8re ab\u00e9naquise et d\u2019un p\u00e8re qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois, Rita Letendre grandit \u00e0 Drummondville, au Qu\u00e9bec. Selon l\u2019artiste, c\u2019est sa grand-m\u00e8re maternelle qui lui a appris la vie. Elle se souvient\u00a0:\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Lorsque l\u2019orage \u00e9clatait et le tonnerre grondait, elle m\u2019amenait dans les champs et me disait \u201cc\u2019est la beaut\u00e9 de la nature. N\u2019aie pas peur\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

Rita Letendre \u2013\u00a0About the Artist<\/h2>\n<\/div>