André Fauteux facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
André Fauteux
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André Fauteux's Holocaust memorial in Barcelona, Spain
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| Born | March 15, 1946 Dunnville, Ontario, Canada
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| Known for | sculptor |
| Movement | abstract modernist Formalist |
| Spouse(s) | Carol Sutton (m. 1977) |
André Fauteux (born March 15, 1946) is a Canadian artist who lives in Toronto, Ontario. He is famous for making sculptures out of welded steel. His art is often called abstract, which means it doesn't try to look exactly like real things. Instead, it uses shapes and forms to show ideas or feelings. His work is also connected to something called Geometric abstraction, which uses simple geometric shapes.
Contents
Early Life and Learning About Art
André Fauteux grew up in Hamilton, Ontario. His mother, Lyle Secord Fauteux, really encouraged him to be an artist.
When he was a boy, he went to Upper Canada College in Toronto. There, a teacher named Vernon Mould taught him how to paint. Later, in the mid-1960s, he studied art at Central Technical School in Toronto. His main teachers there were Robert Ross and Winston Laurence.
André Fauteux's Career
In 1967, Fauteux moved to Ibiza, Spain. While he was there, he met other artists like Graham Coughtry and Gordon Rayner. He spent his time painting in Ibiza. He only started making sculptures after he moved back to Toronto in 1969. His very first sculptures were made from wood.
In the late 1960s, Fauteux worked at an art gallery in Toronto. This gallery was owned by Avrom Isaacs. In 1970, he received his first grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. This grant helped him continue his art.
From 1974 to 1975, Fauteux worked with a famous sculptor named Anthony Caro at York University. After that, he started making minimalist sculptures from steel. Minimalist art often uses very simple forms and shapes. In 1976, he was a guest artist at the Emma Lake Artists' Workshops.
He showed his art at the Sable Castelli Gallery in the Yorkville area of Toronto for more than 25 years. In New York City, his art was shown at the William Edward O'Reilly Gallery.
In 1987, a famous artist named Helen Frankenthaler chose Fauteux as one of five artists to receive a special award. This was the Francis J. Greenburger Foundation Award, and it was given out at the Guggenheim Museum. Also in 1987, he took part in an event called Triangle Barcelona in Barcelona. There, he created a large circular sculpture. This sculpture is now a memorial in the Parc de la Ciutadella. Fauteux went back to Spain in 1990 to make more sculptures. He worked at the Centre D'ART la Rectoria in Catalonia.
More recently, his art has been shown by the Moore Gallery in Toronto. This gallery has featured Fauteux's paintings, which are known for their bold colors and interesting shapes.
Art Style and Materials
André Fauteux's sculptures have simple forms. They do not try to copy real-life objects. His art style is part of modernism, which is a worldwide art movement.
His sculptures often include empty spaces. They also have a rhythmic feel, which means they use repeated shapes and overlapping parts. Good examples of this are his pyramid-shaped sculptures from 1976, like Triangle no. 1. Other pieces like Verve (1975), Moro (1977), and Rosalino Roll (1977) also show this style. You can see how different parts are clearly connected in works such as Blacksmith (1974), Empire (1976), and Fountain of Irony (1987).
Fauteux has also used other materials. For example, he used rubber in some artworks he made in Chicago, Illinois in the 1990s. One of these was La Salle Loop, made from gum rubber and brass. His newer sculptures are often colored with many layers of bright paint and shiny pigments. These are put on top of coated galvanized steel. Some parts of his sculptures are even dipped in chrome, which makes them very shiny.
Important Art Shows
André Fauteux's sculptures have been shown in many important exhibitions.
- In 1975, his work was part of The Condition of Sculpture show at the Hayward Gallery in London.
- In 1976, he had a show at the Dietcher O'Reilly Gallery in New York.
- In 1977, his art was in Eleven Sculptors at the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal in Montreal.
- From 1982 to 1983, a big show of his sculptures toured museums across Canada. This show was called André Fauteux Ten Years. It started at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre and came with a special book written by Karen Wilkin.
- In 1988, he had a successful show at Gallery One in Toronto.
- In 1989, he created an art installation at Ball State University Art Gallery in Muncie, Indiana.
- From 1990 to 1991, he had solo shows in New York, Toronto, Chicago, and Barcelona.
Where You Can Find His Art
André Fauteux's artworks are part of major public collections. You can find them in museums and galleries across North America and in Spain. Some of these important collections include:
- The Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto
- The National Gallery of Canada
Awards He Has Won
- Canada Council Grants: These grants helped him create his art.
- Francis J. Greenburger Foundation Award (1987): He received this award at the Guggenheim Museum. He was chosen by the famous artist Helen Frankenthaler as one of five artists to get this special honor.
Books About André Fauteux
- André Fauteux, Ten Years, 1972–1982: This book (published in 1982) talks about his art from 1972 to 1982. It has text by Karen Wilkin and includes pictures of his work. (ISBN: 0-88911-372-6)
- Canadian Art: Fauteux, André: New Sculpture (1989)
Films Featuring André Fauteux
André Fauteux appeared in a 1979 film called Jack Bush. In the film, he explained how another artist, Jack Bush, influenced his own work. The film was directed by Murray Battle and produced by Rudy Buttignol.
See Also
- List of sculptors
