Canadian artist Michel Landry was born in Joliette, Quebec in 1935. He received his early training in drawing and painting from Jean-Marie Savignac at Collège Bourget, and continued his studies at Sir Georges Williams Art School, presently part of Concordia University. He completed his visual arts studies at the New York School of Visual Arts, from which he graduated in 1958.
Landry worked as a graphic designer for most of his career for various news outlets, namely, La Presse, Le Petit Journal and Dimanche Matin from 1960-1971. From 1974 to 1999, he worked at Le Journal de Montréal, designing the “Weekends” supplements.
Landry’s artistic style developed from early movements of abstraction and automatism and his fascination with the traditional Quebec landscape. His bold paint application method and scattered compositions most likely spring from his love of freestyle jazz. The luminosity and vibrancy of his colours in contrast with the grassy greens and snow-white backgrounds, breathe his paintings to life in their full atmospheric effect.
A dynamic composition and daring background accompanied by a touch of luminosity and boldness, are unique to Landry’s artistic style, making it easy to recognize and hard to beat.
Landry continued to paint from his home in Montreal, Quebec till he passed away on May 20, 2019 at the age of 84 years old.
