Biography
Patrice (Pat) Cantin was born in Jonquière on November 27, 1978. He graduated in photography and painting from the CÉGEP de Jonquière, he studied visual and media arts at the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi, then at the University of Quebec in Montreal, where he earned his bachelor’s degree He explores the interdisciplinary aspect of painting and performance, as well as painting and music.
At a very young age, Cantin remembers that he drew … Everywhere. “I drew: in my locker at school, my notebooks, my diaries, my skateboards.” An object once drawn is no longer just an object but its creation. Cantin could have had a career as a graffiti artist, but his many interests took him elsewhere.
His creative process was born in two stages. The idea of painting comes first from a composition and a color. Composition, especially for his abstract works, is often the sum of ideas accumulated over time. “I don’t take notes. The shapes, the moods, the colors, the contrasts are superimposed in my head.” The material, on the other hand, often stems from previous work on the canvas. There may be several overlays at the beginning of a painting. But it is the movement of matter that determines the rest of the work, the result of which is never predetermined.
“I love everything about creation. I have so many projects to do, it’s an obligation to get up in the morning: I have to create.”