René Lalonde was born in 1950 in Montreal and was the eldest of four. His artistic journey began at the age of 12. Endowed with a vivid imagination, his talents developed and blossomed during his stay at boarding school.
Swept up in the rock and roll craze and what was to become the "British Invasion” of the 1960's, Lalonde was also influenced by the surrealist art movements of the time such as Dali, Ernst and Magritte.
After an incredibly successful first solo-exhibit in 1967, he decided to attend “L’Ecole du Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal” and discovered the cubism of Picasso and the color and infused light of Parrish and Chagall. He expected to learn new techniques and new art forms but after a year, he left disillusioned by the way the classes were taught. Instead, he continued to paint for himself and began working with an art book publisher.
Lalonde was a risk taker and believed that: “without experimentation, there is no progress”. He successfully blended the traditions of surrealism, cubism, and fauvism in his works which never fail to draw viewers with the emotional force of his bold and unusual color choices and the simplicity of flattened planes. His inspired combinations of paradoxical styles and influences yielded extraordinary results and unforgettable creations.
Despite what appear to be dichotomies, René Lalonde’s gift is to make the complex accessible. He lives and works without fear, and his experimentation is the key to his genius. To date, his career includes over 175 solo exhibits worldwide.
