Claude Tousignant

Born in 1932 in Montreal, Quebec, Claude Tousignant is considered to be an important contributors to the development of geometric abstraction in Canada. He attended the School of Art and Design at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts where he studied under Arthur Lismer, Louis Archambault, Marian Dale Scott, and Gordon Webber. He then travelled to Paris where he studied at the Academie Ranson, returning to Montreal in 1952. Tousignant is considered a member of Montreal modern art movement called “Les Plasticiens”, the group of four painters felt that paintings should be pure in form and colour and make no reference to any subjects or spontaneous expressions. In 1962, Tousignant introduced the circular form to his paintings, which would become his ultimate motif and a signature shape. Tousignant’s works are collected by the National Gallery of Canada, the Vancouver Art Gallery, Art Gallery of Ontario, Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal and many more. He was awarded the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts in 2010.