Dans un livre trouvé près du corps sans vie de Chris McCandless, l’aventurier américain qui a inspiré le récit biographique Voyage au bout de la solitude, une annotation révèle « Le bonheur n’est réel que lorsqu’il est partagé ».
Originaire de Sherbrooke, Québec, William Marceau-Briggs complète en 2009 un Diplôme d’études collégiales en Arts Plastiques au Cégep de Sherbrooke. Ensuite, il s’installe à Tiohtià:ke/Montréal et obtient, en 2016, un baccalauréat en beaux-arts spécialisé en peinture et dessin de l’Université Concordia.
Le travail de William se concentre sur les expériences quotidiennes qui, lorsqu’elles sont partagées avec d'autres, génèrent un sentiment d'appartenance. L’intention est de témoigner de l’importance d’un sentiment si abstrait, mais qui sème le bonheur. L’artiste manipule les souvenirs, les photos et les esquisses accumulés au fil des ans pour explorer les relations tissées entre les événements, les objets et les lieux, parfois banals, puis son entourage. Ses peintures et ses dessins expriment la nostalgie du passé à travers une gestuelle expressive, des couleurs éclatantes et une recherche continue marquée par différents médiums. Cependant, les œuvres de Marceau-Briggs dissimulent aussi l'anxiété et la peur que l’artiste ressent envers le climat sociopolitique ainsi que l’environnement mélancolique actuel. Sa démarche célèbre donc les instants de tous les jours qui nous lient les uns aux autres, malgré les tourmentes qui nous emportent collectivement.
Son parcours artistique comporte plusieurs projets solos et collaboratifs ainsi que divers évènements, tels les festivals Mural et Under Pressure. Il expose à travers le Québec ainsi qu’en France, en Allemagne et en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Quelques-unes des sources d’inspiration de l’artiste sont Jules de Balincourt et David Hockney ainsi que Peter Doig, Janet Werner et Kim Dorland, trois peintres canadiens.
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In a book found near the lifeless body of Chris McCandless, the adventurer who inspired the biographical novel Into the Wild, a handwritten note reads, “Happiness is only real when shared”.
Born in Sherbrooke,Québec, William Marceau-Briggs completed a College Diploma in Fine Arts at the Cégep de Sherbrooke in 2009. After relocating to Tiohtià:ke/Montréal, he obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University in 2016 where he specialized in painting and drawing.
William’s work focuses on everyday interactions which, when they are shared between people, generate a feeling of belonging. The intention is to communicate how important such an abstract feeling is because it has the power to spread happiness. The artist explores relationships between places, people and things through interpreting memories, photographs and sketches that he has collected over time. Marceau-Briggs’s paintings and drawings reveal nostalgia through expressive gesture, intense colour and a continuous study of media. However, they also conceal anxiety and fear about the current sociopolitical climate and melancholic environment. His work aims to celebrate the little things that surround us and link us to one another, albeit the ongoing turmoil.
His artistic achievements include numerous projects and events, which include solo and collaborative work, such as Mural Festival and Under Pressure. He has also exhibited throughout Québec as well as in France, in Germany and in New Caledonia. The artist’s inspirations include painters such as David Hockney and Jules de Balincourt, in addition to Canadians Peter Doig, Janet Werner and Kim Dorland.
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Education
SEPTEMBER 2012 - APRIL 2016
Concordia University, Montréal - Bachelor of Fine Arts with Distinction Major Painting and Drawing
SEPTEMBER 2006 - MAY 2009
Cégep de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke - DEC en Arts Plastiques
Group Exhibitions
2020
SGF (Sans Galerie Fix), Québec, Canada - Artist
Hot Paper, Online Exhibition, www.gifc.art - Artist
Grand Projet Secret 3 (Canadien Bacon), Québec, Canada - Artist
Intersection 3, Centre Culturel Françoise-Dunn, Sherbrooke, Canada - Artist
2019
Bouffe ton Art, Sherbrooke, Canada - Artist
Expo au Puces, Centre Culturel Françoise-Dunn, Sherbrooke, Canada - Artist
Punchlines Exhibition, Gallery Rw21, Bayreuth, Allemagne - Artist
Punchlines Exhibition, Haras, Annecy, France - Artist
Punchlines Exhibition, Maison des Arts, Aime-La-Plagne, France - Artist
2018
Signature (Chrome Mtl), Salle de Spectacle de Lachine, Lachine, Canada - Artist
Intersection 2, Centre Culturel Françoise-Dunn, Sherbrooke, Canada - Artist
13 Moons (Qure Agency), Montréal, Canada - Artist
Punchlines, Fresh Paint Gallery Montréal, Canada - Artist
PunchLines, Centre Culturel Dumbéa, Nouméa, Nouvelle-Calédonie - Artist
2017
Intersection, Centre Culturel Françoise-Dunn, Sherbrooke, Canada - Artist
Out for Fame, Galerie Art by Friends, Annecy, France - Artist
Grand Projet Secret 2 (Canadien Bacon), Québec, Canada - Artist
Spectrum, Art Lounge, Montréal, Canada - Artist
Spraycan Art (Chrome MTL), Art Gang, Montréal, Canada - Artist
2016
Concordia Fine Art Graduate Exhibition, FOFA Gallery, Montréal, Canada - Artist
MTL375, Art Gang, Montréal, Canada - Artist
Bare Bones, The Main Gallery, Montréal, Canada - Artist
Artflip 2, Fresh Paint Gallery, Montréal, Canada - Artist
Artflip 2, Centre Culturel Françoise-Dunn, Sherbrooke, Canada - Artist
Amalgam 5, Sherbrooke, Canada - Artist
Out For Fame, Centre Culturel du Mont Dore, Nouvelle-Calédonie - Artist
Grand Projet Secret 2 (Canadien Bacon), Québec, Canada - Artist
Éponyme (Chrome MTL), Montréal, Canada - Artist
2015
Canadien Bacon MTL, Montréal, Canada - Artist
Out For Fame, Fresh Paint Gallery, Montréal - Artist
Impair 2, Centre Culturel Françoise-Dunn, Sherbrooke, Canada - Artist
Amalgam 4, Sherbrooke, Canada - Artist
Letter is the Limit (Chrome MTL), Le Sino, Montréal, Canada - Artist
2014
Art Flip, Montréal, Canada - Artist
Amalgam 3, Sherbrooke, Canada - Artist
2013
The Joy of Painting, Hinnawi Café, Montréal, Canada - Artist
Impair, Centre Culturel Françoise-Dunn, Sherbrooke, Canada - Artist
Amalgam 2, Sherbrooke, Canada - Artist
Professional Practice
Mural Festival, Montréal, Canada - Live Painting, 2020.
Under Pressure, Montréal, Canada - Mural, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016.
Canettes de Ruelles, Montréal, Canada - Mural, 2019, 2018, 2017
Sid Lee, Montreal, Canada - Live Painting, 2018
Festival de Canes , St-Hubert, Canada - Mural, 2018, 2017.
MASSIVart, Montréal, Canada - Live Painting, 2016.
Amalgam, Shebrooke, Canada - Mural, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016.
Foufounes Électriques Montréal, Canada - Mural, 2015.
Beaux Dégâts, Montréal, Canada - Live Painting, 7 éditions (2014-2017).