Carbonifère

Carbonifère
Jean-François Lettre

When he walks through his forest, the artist, who is trained in arboriculture and ecology, takes a benevolent, even scientific, look at the natural ecosystem of his woodland in Les Éboulements. He’s drawn to the trunk covered in mushrooms, cracks, knots. He does this because he likes looking for the images that lie beneath. In the grain of the wood, he reads a face, an emotion, a story, a character . . . he multiplies its shape, in slices. He plays with repetition and alternation, making a puzzle of mycoengraved motifs. A term chosen for his practice which, over time, has distanced itself from the profession in order to better attach itself to art. A transitory state, or état transitoire as some might say. In fact, État transitoire is the name of the temporary exhibition dedicated to him by the Musée des Métiers d’Art du Québec until August. A space in the heart of the metropolis where Jean-François’ sculptures question and express the biological states of wood, without forgetting the carboniferous phase (Carbonifère being the title of the work of which we offer you a glimpse here).