Relocating a collection of works of art, Radio-Canada's major challenge

Guy Montpetit's work is installed in one of the busy corridors of the Maison de Radio-Canada.

Photo: Radio-Canada

The move to the new Maison de Radio-Canada began a few months ago, but what will happen to the works of art that adorn the walls of the tower? Journalist Nabi-Alexandre Chartier took an interest in the question.

You should know that the big brown tower of Radio-Canada conceals artistic treasures, with its collection of 300 works of art created by Canadian artists.

Most of the works date from the 1970s, and we can easily feel the era of pop art, argues art historian, specialist in cultural property management and curator of the Radio-Canada collection Marjorie Godin, drawing the pay attention to the colors and shapes which, for 50 years, have brightened up the corridors of the Maison de Radio-Canada.

Among these works: canvases worthy of a museum, coming from great masters such as Jean-Paul Lemieux or Jean-Paul Riopelle, one of the signatories of the Refus global manifesto.

The curator's favorite? A painting by Claude Tousignant, an artist known in particular for having been part of the plastic artists movement in the 1960s.

It's a work that is almost 50 years old now, and despite its time, is still very current, I think it demonstrates the lively life of the time, the joie de vivre that there was in the 1970s.

A special place in the new house

Several Radio-Canada works already have an assigned place in the new house, with lighting designed to enhance them.For the others, the team in charge of the installation wants to take the time to do things right.

Posted Date: 2020-12-06