Francis Coutellier

Inspired by particular events, personal and general, Coutellier melds Acadian culture, his passion for colour, and a highly developed sense of contemporary art and design.

Coutellier is a driving force in the New Brunswick art community in which he participates as an active artist, curator, private collector and agent and has played an integral part in the development of contemporary art in Acadie. He pursued his art studies in painting and ceramics at the École nationale supérieure d’architecture et des arts visuels de Bruxelles. He obtained a Master’s Degree in Fine Art (photography) from the State University of New York, in Buffalo under the direction of Robert Frank, Joan Lyons and Michael Snow. His multi-faceted work includes paintings, prints, ceramics, tapestries, artist’s books and photographs.

Coutellier has lived in Canada since 1967. He moved to New Brunswick and was a professor in the Fine Arts Department of the Université de Moncton 1969 – 2005 and head of the Visual Arts Department for several years.

Coutellier has exhibited his artwork in nearly 200 exhibitions throughout the world, including Canada, the United States, Hong Kong, Belgium, France and many other European countries. He has collaborated on numerous projects, produced eight books, many magazine and journal articles and has continued to influence a younger generation of artists through his teaching. His 1989 retrospective exhibition organized for the UNB Arts Centre, in Fredericton, also travelled to various Canadian art galleries. His work is held in many public collections including the Musée des Beaux Arts in Brussels, the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, the New Brunswick Art Bank, Harvard University, Memorial University, the Confederation Centre Art Gallery and Museum and the University of New Brunswick.

Source: Penticton Art Gallery