Ombres by Denis Juneau

Born in Verdun, Quebec in 1925, Juneau entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1943 where he studied seven years in the techniques of drawing, decolourization (from fading, bleaching), painting and advertising under Alfred Pellan, Julien Hébert, Maurice Raymond, Jean Simard, Jean Faucher, Renée Chicoine and others. He then served his apprenticeship in silver work under George Delrue and studied draughting with Gilles Beaugrand.

Juneau went to Italy in 1954 where he continued his studies until 1956. He was particularly interested in the confrontation of art and industrial techniques and carried out studies in this field at the Centre Studi Arte Industria de Novara where he worked under the direction of the founder of the school Nino di Salvatore (abstract painter and designer). One of Juneau’s metal sculptures was exhibited at Cantu, Italy, in 1957.

Returning to Canada he held a one man show in Montreal in 1958 where in the following year he became a member of the Non-Figurative Artists Association of Montreal and exhibited with them at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Juneau is known in the field of industrial aesthetics by architects and decorators, also for his sculpture, paintings and murals by the general public. He participated in a number of group shows including The Third and Seventh Biennial Exhibitions of Canadian Art/Painting; Panorama 11 (1955-65) at Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montreal (1967); 88th Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Exhibition (1967); group showing at the Carmen Lamanna Gallery, Toronto (1968); The Three Schools, Toronto (1968); Deck-the-Grange Committee (Women’s Committee Art Gallery of Ontario) (1968); Seven Painters from Montreal, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Hayden Gallery (1968). Juneau is represented in the Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montreal; Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; Ontario Council of Arts; National Gallery of Canada; Minister of Cultural Affairs Collectuion, Quebec; St. Lawrence Columbium and Metals Corp,; Rothmans of Pall Mall Canada Limited.

Source: "A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Volume 3: Jacobi-Lismer", compiled by Colin S. MacDonald, Canadian Paperbacks Publishing Ltd, Ottawa, 1979