AGATHE LEGENDRE

ARTIST BIO

Originally from Quebec City, Agathe Legendre grew up in a family of musicians. It was during her final year of high school that she began to develop a passion for painting on canvas. After attending CEGEP in Arts and Letters, she completed a bachelor's degree in Classical Studies and a master's degree in Art History, during which she focused on the illuminations in a corpus of medieval manuscripts.This academic background, as well as certain positions held within cultural institutions, broadened his imagination and influenced his creative process. After a period of material exploration, his aesthetic sensibility became rooted in a fascination with the evocative power of textured chromatic fields, viewed intuitively and ornamentally.

Since 2022, Agathe has had the opportunity to exhibit her work in Quebec, Halifax, and Washington. The artist completed a residency in pre-Columbian ceramics at the Arquetopia Foundation in Puebla, Mexico, in March 2024. She will return in the winter of 2026 for another phase of research, culminating in a group exhibition. She also spent time on Vancouver Island in May 2025 for a self-directed artist residency.

Her current position in cultural mediation at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec allows her to learn a great deal about the various artistic practices in visual arts in Quebec and elsewhere. Her colleagues and audiences from diverse backgrounds are a rich source of inspiration for her.


ARTIST STATEMENT

I create universes that revolve around the imagery of myth through painted polychromatic abstractions. For me, myths are imbued with a profound organic character. Their stories contain a fluidity, a vagueness, and a chaos that fascinate me. Imperfect and emotional characters, tumultuous events, and sublime landscapes embody infinite sources of imagery for abstract contemplation. I thus indulge in the free and unpredictable interpretation of the subjective auras projected by certain mythical protagonists and places.

My work therefore revolves around a kind of materialization of the atmospheres that different myths evoke in me. The chromatic ranges, varied textures, and pearly, glossy, or iridescent finishes that capture the light channel this process of materialization. The result is canvases that take shape through decorative, ornamental, and even artisanal aspects, almost like tapestries (textiles).

I am very interested in the interplay of color, texture, and light. More specifically, decoration and ornamentation are guiding principles in my work. In my view, these two concepts possess aesthetic power, allowing for the creation of immersive atmospheres that emerge during my creative sessions.

I proceed by intuitively applying acrylic paint in multiple all-over layers. Through rhythmic and punctuated gestures, I use spatulas, rags, sponges, and my hands. The more layers I apply, the more textures are created, enriching subsequent layers in unpredictable ways. Effects of diffused particles and depth begin to emerge.

My approach is now evolving toward the concept of object/space. I now tend to create decorative objects through trial and error, deforming my colored canvases, which are now floating (without wooden frames on the back). I embrace a perspective of embellishment and occupation of space to create organic, mythical, magical atmospheres.