Background
Marcel Barbeau was born on February 18, 1925, in Montreal, Montreal Region, Canada.
Marcel Barbeau was born on February 18, 1925, in Montreal, Montreal Region, Canada.
Marcel's early training was thorough. As well as studying drawing at the École du meuble, Montréal, he worked with Borduas, with architect Marcel Parizeau and art historian Maurice Gagnon.
Marcel travelled extensively, living and exhibiting in Paris, New York and California, and his style changed, moving from the lyrical abstracts of the Automatiste period towards a more geometric mode.
In the late 1970s he returned to the free-form, all-over surface activity that he had favoured before. By 1987, inspired by his sculpture and collages, his painting again changed, moving back to hard edge forms in highly contrasted colors.
From 1958 to 1974 and 1991 to 1996, Marcel lived and worked in the United States and in Europe, meeting artists such as the American abstract-expressionists and members of the Pop Art movement, as well as members of the French kinetic movement, GRAV (Groupe de recherche d'art visuel). During his time living in France in the early seventies he began making large-scale sculpture as well as experimenting with performance art. He died on January 2, 2016 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
One of the original signatories of Refus global, Barbeau was an active member of the Automatistes led by Paul-Émile Borduas.
Marcel was married to Suzanne Meloche and they had a daughter.