Geneviève Jost by Christian Deberdt
BIOGRAPHY
Geneviève Jost was born in 1944 in Compiègne, France, where her father was a forester. As a child, she developed an interest in drawing and in the arts in general - litterature, poetry, theatre, etc. Despite her artistic interests, she studied eductation and worked with delinquents for a few years.
In 1965, Geneviève visited Sherbrooke, Quebec for the first time. She settled in Quebec in 1967.
The serenity she has experienced through different particular dimensions of the landscape, along with the surprising contrasts of North American society, have led her toward an unceasing exploration in the footsteps of primitive American painters she admires and with whom she feels a close affinity.
“In fact, it was following a visit to New York in 1965 where she attended an exhibition of primitive American painters, that the desire to paint came to her. Once settled in Quebec with her family, she began to teach herself how to paint, calling upon her childhood memories. Instinctively she discovered the devices she needed, particularly those of perspective and transparency, to convey the impression of density. Once she has layered the perspective, she applies herself to the task of rendering transparency. For her it is the ideal method for creating a vibration in the scene she is painting. Both acrylic and oil allow her to spread the colour like a wash; it is through the application of many such layers that a kind of luminosity emerges, which facilitates the passage from a flat tint to a depth perspective outside the planes she uses to get from her proscenium to the rear of her stage. By carefully observing a face, a brick, an element of the surface, or even the sky in its entirety, we can perceive the lightness and delicacy of tone which is so highly refined in this artist. Her desire for luminosity comes from the numerous old doors she painted throughout the years.
Geneviève Jost is referred to as a naive painter and as such participates in many national and international exhibitions. The scenes the artist portrays on the threshold of reality always give the impression that she lives on a time-plane slightly different from our own. She borrows subjects for her paintings from the simplicity of everyday life and she is fond of interrupting time in a gesture, an attitude or an atmosphere, similar to photography.”
Self-taught, Geneviève began painting on a regular basis in 1978 and has an annual production of about 30 to 35 paintings. Her first solo exhibition at Galerie L’Art Français was held in 1983. In 1989, she won a silver medal for the most original painting at the International show of Modern Primitive Art organized by the Galerie Pro Arte Kasper in Morges, Switzerland. In 1990, she was awarded the gold medal for the best painting at this same show.
Her works can be found in several galleries in Canada as well as in Europe and they are part of the most prestigious collections such as: Montreal Trust, Glaxo, Dupont Canada, Reader’s Digest, Bombardier, and many others. Geneviève Jost’s paintings are also present in several private collections in Belgium, the U.S.A., France, Italy, Israel, Holland, Germany and Switzerland.
EXHIBITIONS
· 2017 Geneviève Jost: Retrospective Exhibition, Musée International d'art Naîf de Magog
· 2017 Solo – Selected Works by the artist, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
· 2016 Groupe- Herbstsalon, Debora Gutman Galerie, Berlin, Germany
· 2016-2011 Groupe- Naïve World, Gina Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israël
· 2013-00 Collective - Artists’ Choice, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
· 2013-1993 Collective - Small Size Works, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
· 2010-2006 Collective - Galerie Jeannine Blais, North Hatley, Québec
. 2010 Solo- New Works, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
· 2006 Solo- New Works, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
· 2013-2000: Collective- Artists’ Choice, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
· 2013-1993: Collective- Small Size Works, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
· 2004: Solo- Galerie Jeannine Blais, North Hatley
· 2003-2001 : Concours international de la peinture primitive moderne, Morges, Suisse
· 2002: Solo- New Works, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
· 1999: Solo- New Works, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
· 1999: Collective- Autoportrait, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
· 1998: Collective- Entre deux chaises, Galerie Vente et Location du Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal
· 1998-94-92-91: Collective- Concours international d’art primitif moderne, Galerie Pro-Arte Kasper, Morges, Suisse
· 1997: Solo, Galerie Louise Smith, Toronto
· 1996: Collective- Du plus petit au plus grand, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
· 1996: Duo avec Christian Deberdt, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
· 1996: Collective- Concours international, Galerie Jeannine Blais, North Hatley, Québec
· 1994: Solo, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
· 1994: Collective- 60ème anniversaire de la galerie, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
· 1994: Collective, Galerie Jeannine Blais, North Hatley
· 1994: Collective, Galerie Sotir, Montréal
· 1993: Collective- Lancement du livre La fête au Québec et les peintres naïfs, Éditions Trécarré, 1993, Centre d’art Morency, Montréal
· 1993: Collective, Maison des arts de Laval, Laval
· 1992: Solo, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
· 1992: Collective- Elles sont 16, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
· 1990: Collective- Arthur Villeneuve et la peinture naïve, Musée d’Arthabaska
· 1991: Solo, Galerie Louise Smith, Toronto
· 1990: Solo, Galerie Pro Arte Kasper, Morges, Suisse
· 1990-89-86: Collective, Galerie Pro Arte Kasper, Morges, Suisse
· 1989: Solo, Galerie l’Art Français, Montréal
· 1987: Solo- Exposition rétrospective, Délégation Générale du Québec, New York
· 1987: Solo, Galerie l’Art Français, Montréal
· 1987-86: Collective, Salon international d’art naïf, Paris
· 1987-86: Collection- Participation au prix suisse de la peinture primitive moderne, Galerie Pro Arte Kasper, Morges, Suisse
· 1986: Collective, Galerie Pro Arte Kasper, Morges, Suisse
· 1986: Collective, Exposition d’art naïf international, Abidjan, Côte-d’Ivoire
· 1985: Collective- La cité et les naïfs- Exposition internationale d’art naïf Canada-France Musée des Beaux-Arts de Sherbrooke, Québec
· 1985: Solo, Galerie l’Art Français, Montréal
· 1985: Collective- La peinture naïve au Québec à Paris, Galerie Naïfs du monde entier, Paris, France
· 1984: Collective- Peintres naïfs allemands et québecois, Maison de la culture Notre-Dame de Grâce, Montréal
· 1984: Collective- 450ème anniversaire de la ville de Québec, Ville de Québec, complexe G, Québec
· 1983: Solo, Galerie l’Art Français, Montréal
· 1982: Solo, Galerie l’Oeil, Bruxelles, Belgique
· 1982 : Collective, Galerie Crescent, Montréal
· 1980-1978: Collective, Salon des métiers d’art, Montréal
· 1979: Exposition de meubles peints, Chez le fleuriste, Outremont, Québec
HONORS AND MENTIONS
· 1998: Prix Fémina du concours suisse de la peinture primitive, Galerie Pro Arte Kasper, Morges, Suisse
· 1990: Prix suisse de la peinture primitive, Galerie Pro Arte Kasper, Morges, Suisse
· 1989: Prix spécial Pro Arte Kasper du concours suisse de la peinture primitive, Galerie Kasper, Morges, Suisse
COLLECTIONS
· Musée International d'Art Naïf, Magog, Quebec
· Dupont Canada, Montréal, Quebec
· General Electric, Toronto, Ontario
· Glaxo, Toronto, Ontario
· McDonald Tobacco, Toronto, Ontario
· McMasters Art Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario
· Montréal Trust, Montréal, Quebec
· Musée d’art naïf de la ville de Paris, France
· Musée de l’art naïf de l’Ile-de-France, Paris
· Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke, Quebec
· The CIT Group Inc, Indianapolis, Indiana
· Cellex-C International Inc, Toronto, Ontario
· Sharabura Group, Toronto, Ontario
· Sélection du Reader’s Digest, Montréal, Quebec
· Via Rail, Montreal
· Bombardier, Montreal
· Banque Scotia, Montreal
· Musée de Charlevoix, Pointe au Pic
· University College of Cape Breton Art Gallery, Sydney, Nova Scotia
· Private collections in Canada, Belgium, France, United States, Italy, Israel, Holland, Germany and Switzerland
BIBLIOGRAPHY
· Robert Bernier, "Geneviève Jost, monter sur ses propres épaules", Parcours Art et art de vivre, Vol. 12, no. 3, automne 2006
· Robert Bernier, "Geneviève Jost, en toute liberté!", Parcours l’informateur des arts, Vol. 8, no. 3, automne 2002
· Mario Cyr, "Geneviève Jost : paradis retrouvé", Parcours l’informateur des arts, Vol. 1, No 3, automne 1995
· Jean-Claude Leblond, "Geneviève Jost : un ange sur la ville", Magazin’Art, 7è année, No 2, hiver 1994-95
· Pierre Savignac, "Geneviève Jost, Reine des « Primitifs modernes »", Le Collectionneur, Vol. VII, No 27, été 1990
· Jacques Brosse, "Arbre symbolique et peinture naïve", tiré de L’arbre et les naïfs, Paris, Éditions Max Fourny, Art et industrie, 1990
· Guy Boulizon, Daigle, Jost, Naïfs ces peintres du Québec et de l’Acadie, Québec, Éditions Trécarré, 1989
· Crapauds et autres animaux, Montréal, Éditions de la Courte Échelle, 1984
· Yvon Daigle, La fête au Québec et les peintres naïfs, Outremont, Éditions Trécarré, 1993
· Gilles Mermet, La cité et les naïfs, Éditions Vilo, Paris, Art et industrie, Éditions Vilo, 1986
· Naïve art from Australia, Canada and Europe, Australie, Éditions Vasa Carapic, Armadale, 1994
· Guy Boulizon, Le paysage dans la peinture au Québec, La Prairie, Éditions Marcel Broquet, 1984
