Christian Deberdt

Christian Deberdt

Christian Deberdt (1947-2011) - Biography

Christian Deberdt was born in Paris in 1947 into an artistic family. He attended the Gambetta Printing School and the Estienne Graphic Arts School in Paris, while apprenticing in photo and printing, at studios specializing in art reproduction. In 1966, at the age of eighteen, with four years’ experience in the field of art reproduction, he left Paris to start a new life in Montréal, where his eldest brother was already established. In 1967-68, Christian was forced to return to France to complete his compulsory military service but came back to Canada in October 1968, having married a Montrealer.

Over the next six years, Deberdt made his living in various ways, working in some of Montreal’s best bars and restaurants and traveling throughout Canada and the United States selling encyclopedias. Deberdt began painting as a way to counter the boredom he experienced, staying in one hotel room after another. He painted the scenes that surrounded him and was greatly encouraged when his friends and acquaintances purchased several of his works.

Although he continued to work as a salesman, by 1975 he had started taking painting more seriously and shortly thereafter, Deberdt realized it was impossible for him to continue to do both. In 1976 he decided to become a full-time artist. Deberdt was greatly influenced by the Group of Seven, in particular by Lawren Harris’ graphic landscapes. Around this time he also discovered the work of another Canadian artist, Tom Forrestal, the hyperrealist. From these influences, a distinctly “Deberdtian” style and vision began to emerge.

Deberdt worked, as his paintings might suggest, with rare precision. Although he sometimes painted up to ten hours a day, he rarely produced more than twenty-five works a year, as each one took weeks to complete. Many of his paintings have been used as cover art for various publications.

In 1981, the artist fulfilled a long-cherished dream of purchasing a house in the Eastern Townships, the region that most inspires him. Several years afterwards, he met and later married Lucie. The artist’s personal life was transformed, as was his work. Having become a father to Lucie’s three children, Christian’s paintings – which are generally devoid of all temporal references – began for the first time to include children going about their daily activities, capturing smaller, intimate moments between loved ones and family.

Sadly, Christian died in November 2011 in the Eastern Townships, at the age of 64 but the artist's body of work can be been found in many of the most prestigious collections in Canada.

Selected Collections:
Bombardier, Valcourt QC
Cape Breton University Art Gallery, Sydney, NS
La Laurentienne, Compagnie d’Assurance, Québec, QC
Montréal Trust, Montréal
Musée du Saguenay, Chicoutimi, QC
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke QC
Canada Post, Ottawa
Reader’s Digest, Montréal
The Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Kitchener-Waterloo, ON
Le Groupe Bocage, Sherbrooke, QC
McMaster University Art Gallery, Hamilton, ON
Musée de Charlevoix, Pointe au Pic, QC
Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, NB

Selected Solo Exhibitions:

2011-10-09-08-07-06-05-04-03-02-01-00
Artists Choice, group exhibition, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
2011-10-09-08-07-06-05-04-03-02-01-00-99-98-97-96-85-94
Small size works, group exhibition, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
2009 Retrospective Exhibition, Fondation J.Armand Bombardier, Valcourt, QC
2006 La fête des fleurs, group exhibition, Musée Marc-Aurèle Fortin, Montréal
2005 Solo exhibition, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
2005 Solo exhibition, Gallery Gevik, Toronto
2003 Solo exhibition, Gallery Gevik, Toronto
2002 Solo exhibition, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
1999 Solo exhibition, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
1999 Self-Portrait, group exhibition, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
1996 Duo with Geneviève Jost, Galerie Valentin, Montréal
1994 Raymond, Chabot, Martin, Paré et associés, Sherbrooke, QC
1992 Artist’s studio, Stukely Sud, QC
1991 Traversée internationale du lac Memphrémagog, Magog, QC
1991 Galerie Valentin, Montréal
1991 Lourie Gallery, Toronto
1989 Galerie l’Art Français, Montréal
1989 Musée des Beaux-Arts de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC
1986 Galerie l’Art Français, Montréal
1985 Huit peintres réalistes, Galerie l’Art Français, Montréal
1983 Galerie l’Art Français, Montréal
1981 Galerie l’Art Français, Montréal
1980 Peintres du Québec, Shell Canada, Calgary, AB
1981 Toronto International Art Fair, Toronto
1980 Galerie l’Art Français, Montréal
1980 Toronto International Art Fair, Toronto
1979 New York International Art Fair, New York
1979 Esso Concerts, Place des Arts, Montréal
1978 M. J. S. International, Forth Worth, Texas, USA
1978 Galerie l’Art Français, Montréal
1978 Art 78-JPS & PS, Montréal
1978 Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC
1977 F. Tannock and Sons Gallery, Montréal
1976 Galerie Knobb, Montréal

Artist Specialization: Using hyperrealism, Christian Deberdt creates a world which mixes dreams and reality. For Christian the subject of a painting is not cerebral, nor is it intellectual or ideological. His subjects are simple, springing from his observations of nature. His schematic representations of mountains, trees, lakes and rivers, rocks and flowers reduce these elements to their purest form. The scenes he depicts are almost always rural: this celebration of bucolic landscapes and lush vegetation reflect the artist’s own life and values. Preferring to use acrylic paints or Prismacolor pencils, Deberdt creates works with a three-dimensional quality. We find references to several artistic movements in his work, among them hyperrealism, surrealism and fantasy. From these influences emerge a distinct and unique style. Christian sees light as an essential element of his compositions and goes against the established rules concerning the use of light and shade. In his lush and heavenly forests the light is sometimes multi-directional, creating a mystical effect that transports us into a dream world.