Biography
André Coppens was born in December of 1948 at Berchem Sainte-Agathe, a small village from the region of Brussells in Belgium. For a brief time, André studies with the goal of becoming a pediatric doctor until his father gets him out of school to enroll him into a newly created school of arts and crafts, the “Institut des arts et Métiers” in Brussells. There, he falls in love with the history of art. His passion of colors comes from his numerous travels throughout Europe when he was a child, travelling with his parents. In love with the region of Provence in the south of France, he paints its many landscapes full of sunlight and bright colors. Later in his career, André discovers Quebec and now paints its landscapes with the same fervor he does with all of his work. If Provence is the love of his heart, Quebec is his mistress.
A versatile artist, André paints and illustrates songs from Jacques Brel, Félix Leclerc and Gilles Vigneault. Athletic, André is also passionate about Le Tour de France, and in 2004, he is commissioned to illustrate the « Tour Gourmand de France… au Pays de Liège », where he paints scenes from the main cities of this circuit. He also participates to many group and solo exhibitions in Belgium, France, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Quebec.
André’s original paintings can be found in many private collections throughout Canada, Europe and the United States. He has twice received the first prize for the festival “Rencontre des Arts”, the “Prix Stanké,” in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu.
André brought his great love for the Provence with him when he travelled to the province of Quebec in Canada. He remembers with great emotion: “It really was a shot in the dark, this Quebec adventure. And yet, it worked beyond all my expectancies; mainly thanks to Mrs. Françoise Boutin, the first to welcome me at her hotel Harris in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu: barely finished unpacking my paintings, Mrs. Boutin buys three of them on the spot and makes sure I meet with artists and gallery owners and representatives. Thanks to the open-mindedness of Quebec’s regional artists, who aren’t jealous of their international colleagues, and did everything they could to help introduce me as a painter to the local public. So much that, every year, I go back to Quebec with great joy, where I’m welcomed with enthusiasm and respect, on the same level as renown artists from the world of contemporary art.”
Artist’s statement
From a very young age, André Coppens was introduced to the world of Art. He’s gained his deep knowledge of color through his work as an artisan at his father’s business, where he also learned valuable skills as a painter that allowed him to delve into the worlds of architecture, fashion, design and decoration. It’s with this knowledge base that he decides to become a fine artist as a painter and started selling his first paintings as a street artist.
André’s early inspiration comes from his admiration for the works of early 20th century French impressionist Pierre Bonnard. He is particularly drawn to the personal story of the painter’s wife who suffered from an illness that made her feel like she was dirty. Using his wife as an inspiration, Bonnard would construct paintings of a woman taking a bath, which deeply touched André and inspired him to paint the stories of the people he’d meet during his numerous travels.
In the spirit of painting styles such as pointillism, André describes his work as being “outlinism” that he explains as such: “it’s a derivation of comic book drawing: I compose and apply colors, and then I outline the elements of my painting once it’s finished, the reverse action of comic book drawing.”
André’s subjects vary immensely: sometimes a landscape from Provence, the skies and luminous mountains of Charlevoix, scenes from towns and villages of France, Belgium and Quebec, or fields reddened by poppies, the common denominator of all those paintings is that they all tell a story.
Today, André favors acrylics, but it wasn’t always the case. Oil painter at first, it was while he was participating at a symposium in Beauport Quebec for eight days that he observed his colleagues producing one painting a day, while he worked on the same painting for the full duration of the symposium. He then decided to try his hand at acrylics and never regretted it since he made the plunge. He attributes the facility with which he made the switch to his work process where he mixes paint colors on his palette rather than on the canvas, as many oil painters are wont to do.
The best satisfaction he gets from his work is how his public appreciates his paintings. He loves conversing with his visitors who will often become his muses for his future compositions. But the most nourishing for him are the loves at first sight, when a visitor get struck so hard by one of his works that he cannot do without it.
«I heard the songs of cicadas, I smelled the perfume of lavender. My colors, my light bring comfort to the eyes and solace to our lives. My naïve and varied subjects help the heart rejoice and bring quietude to the mind that will make you forget that Man has gone mad.»
C.V.
Education
- Institut des arts et métiers, Brussels, Belgium
Honours, Prizes and Mentions (selected)
- Stanké (first prize), Rencontre des Arts, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec
Galleries and Representation (selected)
| Since 2014 | Galerie du Vieux Saint-Jean, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec |
| Artistic Atelier Fargy, Beauport, Quebec | |
| 2007 to 2010 | Bourget Gallery, Montréal, Quebec |
| 2000 to 2015 | Artistic Atelier Fargy, Beauport, Quebec |
| 1997 | Atelier du Flot Gallery, Racour, Belgium |
| 1996, 1997 | Du Clos Saint-Georges Gallery, Aÿ-Champagne, France |
| 1996 | Gingelom, Haspengouw, Belgique |
| 1995 | Eau de la Fontaine Museum, Genval, Belgium |
| 1994 | Georges Henri, Brussels, Belgium |
| 1993 | Vieux Sablons, Galerie du château Mottin, Hannut, Belgium |
Solo Exhibitions (selected)
| 2018 | Apéro 2018 |
| 2018 | Marcel Muselet – Artistes amoureux de la nature |
| 2018 | Quartier 10-30, Brossard, Quebec |
| 2018 | Ferisier Gallery |
| 2018 | Le Portal Gallery, Quebec City, Quebec |
| 2018 | Guy Bourget Gallery, Old Montreal, Quebec |
| 2018 | Galerie du Vieux Saint-Jean, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec |
| 2017 | Galerie du Vieux Saint-Jean, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec |
| 2017 | Art’Pero Gallery, Crupet, Belgium |
| 2017 | Fedactio Gallery, Belgium |
| 2017 | Art Gallery Apéro |
| 2010 | Chasse et pêche Museum, Canada |
| 2008 | Art’Pero Gallery, Crupet, Belgium |
| 2008 | Space Art Gallery, Montreal, Quebec |
| 2004 | Espace Félix Leclerc, St-Pierre Îles d’Orleans, Quebec |
| 2003 | Simenon, Liège, Belgium |
| 2002 to 2007 | Espace bonhomme, Liège, Belgium |
| 2002 | Jacques Brel – Le Portal Art Gallery, Quebec City, Quebec |
| 2000 | Eau de la Fontaine Museum, Genval, Belgium |
| 1994 | CERA Bank, Brussels, Belgium |
| 1993 | Les Vieux Sablons, Brussels, Belgium |
International Exhibitions (selected)
| 2018 | 2 arts en lumière – Hamsi Boubeker, Brussels, Belgium |
| 2018 | Luxembourg Embassy – Horta Gallery, Brussels, Belgium |
| 2017 | 15 Artists Collaboration –– Group Painting 30m X 6m, Freedom of Expression, Forbach, France |
| 2015 | Senior Art – 55 and more Exhibition, Cloître de l’Abbaye de la Cambre, Brussels, Belgium |
| 2012 | Bourlingster Castle, Bourlingster, Luxembourg |
| 2010 | Castle of Tour-de-Peiltz, Lake Geneva, Switzerland |
| 2009 | Harris Tour, Hungary |
| 2003 to 2016 | International Artistic Festival André Coppens, Belgium |
| 2001 to 2013 | Racour Festival, Racour, Belgium |
| 1992 to 1994 | Racour en fête, Racour, Belgium |
- Various exhibitions throughout Quebec since 1998
- Castle of Tour-de-Peiltz, Lake Geneva, Switzerland
- Art Gallery of Mottin Castle, Hannut, Belgium
- 3rd Multicultural Meeting and Dialog, Amongst Belgium Artists, Luxembourg and Switzerland
Group Exhibitions (selected)
| 2019 | Anse St-Jean Symposium (Honorary President), Anse St-Jean, Quebec |
| 2018 | Tadoussac Symposium, Grand Hôtel de Tadoussac, Tadoussac, Quebec |
| 2018 | Rassemblement des arts, Brossard, Canada |
| 2010 | Sept-Îles Symposium, Shaputuan Museum, Sept-Îles, Quebec |
| 2003 to 2018 | Le rendez-vous des artistes Saint-Léon-art, New-Brunswick, Canada |
| 1998 to 2017 | Rencontres des Arts, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada |
| Artistic Festival of Beauport, Beauport, Québec | |
| Various exhibitions throughout Quebec since 1998 |
