ANDRÉ DESJARDINS

VISUAL EMOTIONISM

"With my brush, for a brief moment of a painting, I celebrate the right to live, to love, to speak, to make love..."
~ André Desjardins

The essence of life emerges with every stroke of Desjardins' brush, every texture and nuance, transforming the empty canvas into a statement about the mysteries of life, love and our universe itself. His thoughts are made real and hidden faces break free from the chaos of life, giving an almost serene and tranquil feeling, while muted and subtle colors coax one into a dreamlike state of viewing the mysteries that Desjardins has revealed.

Born in the small Canadian town of Hauterive, Quebec, Canada, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River on March 2, 1964, Desjardins earned his bachelor's degree in Art from the University of Quebec in Montreal and owned a successful marketing firm before making the decision to pursue the freedom of painting full-time.

André's passion for life and the stories told in the faces of humanity developed early and have continued to evolve. Today he devotes his time, energy, and passion to translating emotions into images of timeless beauty and humanity as the founder of "Visual Emotionism."

André's passion turned to painting early this century with the encouragement of friends like Pierre Bernard who urged him "to get out of the frame." Such advice was just the right thing to say to a man who freely admits that "I love to be challenged." Desjardins has embraced the freedom that pigment and canvas provide, to develop his "Visual Emotionism" style (simultaneously expressionist and humanist) that fuses the figurative with the abstract and tells the stories of those he has encountered.

Although Desjardins credits the Spanish painter Antoni Tàpies with having the greatest influence on his artistic style (primarily because of Tàpies devotion to making the insignificant significant and his evolution from surrealist to abstract impressionist), it was the death of his father when he was only twelve years old that was the most profound influence on his life and his art, for it has motivated André "to make him live again in my own accomplishments."

The art of Desjardins, the founder of "Visual Emotionism," reaches out to touch the soul as it awaits the emotional reaction of the viewer for its completion. Like the conductor of a great symphony, Desjardin uses his hands to add both emphasis and nuance to his works, for each is a representation of humanity energized by the emotions of the artist himself.

As Desjardins' paintings continue to evolve, the melding of the old and the new, the Da Vinci with the Jackson Pollock, becomes more and more apparent. The fact that Desjardins chooses to create directly on the canvas serves to intensify the emotions instilled in each work as it tells its story with eloquence and passion and, through a closely guarded proprietary technique, crackling is induced to emphasize the fragility of life and add the feel of the old masters to each creation.

"Art is important because it is a universal and timeless language - it makes me feel immortal - to leave something that will last. It's my way to communicate that kind of emotion."

CHRONOLOGY

Andre Desjardins was born in Hauterive, Quebec, Canada, on the North Shore of the St-Laurent River on March 2, 1964.

Desjardins holds a Bachelor's Degree in Art from the University of Quebec in Montreal.

Owning a successful marketing firm with eighty-five employees created a void that painting was destined to fill, for painting affords true freedom to express and its content or subject matter is not dictated by others.

The experience of having created hundreds of art designs for plays and movies and thousands of CD covers has provided a firm foundation for the evolution of Andre's work and has helped to motivate him to ?get out of the frame.?

Today Andre devotes his time, energy, and passion to painting, to translating emotions into images of timeless beauty and humanity as the founder of "Visual Emotionism."

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"The artwork of Desjardins rejects all pretense and convention so that the experience is one of pure emotion. His works convey depth, both emotional and visual, and classify him as an artist who will undoubtedly leave his mark."
~ Hélène Bélanger-Martin, international film director, lecturer and journalist for Elle Québec magazine

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"Desjardins' artworks are a continuous and endless exploration of the primitive dilemmas of the Freudian id through intense investigations of color and dimension. Genius, undoubtedly."
~ Marcel Martin M.D., F.R.C.S., Professor of Surgery, University of Sherbrooke, Canada