Originally from Caraquet, New Brunswick, Lise Robichaud lives in Moncton in the southeastern part of the province. A recipient of FCAR Québec-Acadie scholarships and creation grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, artsnb, and other organizations, this artist is the winner of the 2005 Éloizes Award (Visual Artist of the Year). She has completed artist residencies in Nova Scotia (Annapolis Royal and Wolfville), Quebec (Rouyn-Noranda), and France (Poitiers), in addition to exhibiting solo in artist-run centers in eastern Canada. Her visual art is rooted in archival work and sometimes incorporates texts by Acadian poet Raymond Guy LeBlanc (1945–2021), who was her partner in art and life for 40 years. 

Drawing on her Acadian culture, Lise explores autobiographical themes related to the natural environment and grief. In 1999, she was selected to represent Canada in the ephemeral sculpture section of the International Symposium on Contemporary Art in Moncton. There, she created an 80-meter-long installation made of assembled wooden slats entitled Longue vague déferlante (Long Breaking Wave), "metaphorically linking the survival of the Petitcodiac River to that of Acadia " (Sioui Durand, 2000). In painting, she is the author of the painting Angélus from the series À l'ombre d'Évangéline, which was exhibited at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery (Charette and Riordon, 2004) and the Confederation Centre of the Arts (2010-2011), among others. Co-curator of the exhibition Présence 27 (GAUM), she has written about Acadian art and visual arts education. As a professional artist, Lise has served on various committees related to the visual arts, as well as on peer juries at artsnb. Since 2021, she has been a member of Galerie 12. Her next solo exhibition at Galerie 12, at the Aberdeen Cultural Centre in Moncton, will take place from October 10 to November 5, 2025. 

References

Charette, L. and Riordon, B. (2004). À l’ombre d’Évangéline : 10 nouveaux contes acadiens. Fredericton, NB: Beaverbrook Art Gallery.

Sioui Durand, G. (2000). Attention, le Mascaret ne siffle pas [August 10–22, 1999, Moncton International Contemporary Art Symposium]. Inter, (76): 41–45.

WHAT LED YOU TO BECOME AN ARTIST?

As a child, whenever I had paper at my disposal, I would draw. I think it fulfilled an inner need and allowed me to better communicate my ideas. In my opinion, we are born with the potential to become artists. Then, we just need to be lucky and have an environment that is conducive to our creative development. I was fortunate to have been encouraged to create from an early age. For example, I remember having plenty of paper, colored pencils, and fabric at my disposal, so I spent a lot of time drawing, reading, and sewing. I was also fortunate as a child to be able to play freely outdoors, which facilitates the development of creativity. Several members of my family are skilled at drawing. As a child, I was fascinated by the detail and accuracy of the drawings of people and animals made by my father, who had inherited his drawing talent from his biological grandmother, Marianne Johnson-Richard of Rogersville. A milliner by trade, she was also a painter, poet, and musician. Her landscape paintings featuring deer were the first paintings I ever saw. As a teenager, I taught myself to paint outdoors, then took art classes with Régine Mallet at Louis Mailloux High School. I then studied visual arts at the bachelor's level (painting with Claude Gauvin and sculpture with Claude Roussel) and at the master's level (painting with Robert Venor), culminating in a doctorate in the philosophy of visual arts education. Visual arts and reading have been part of my life since childhood.

HOW HAVE YOUR EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE HELPED YOU TO CREATE AND INNOVATE IN YOUR ARTISTIC PRACTICE?

A bachelor's degree in visual arts from the University of Moncton introduced me to technical processes such as photography, engraving, drawing, painting, sculpture, and graphic arts. In addition, I studied graphic communication and trained as a visual arts teacher. This artistic training was a great help in enabling me to create art freely. In the 1990s, thanks to a France-Acadie scholarship, I did an internship in France at the Centre de recherche sur l’Imaginaire at Stendhal University in Grenoble. It was Gilbert Durand’s writings that helped me decode the symbolic meaning present in my visual art creations. Innovation appeared in my first floor sculpture entitled Naissance (Birth) in the late 1990s, which I created following my experience as a mother. It was a floor sculpture made by assembling wood painted with charcoal, with three stones painted with pastels and acrylic in the center. Since then, I have continued to work on ephemeral installations using different wood materials. I often alternate between painting and ephemeral sculpture.

WHAT STIMULATES YOUR PRACTICE THE MOST?

Seeing works of art regularly and experiencing the process of creating with materials stimulates my practice. Once the work is finished, the feeling of pleasure I experience is indescribable. This often stimulates the process of creating the next work.

HOW HAS LIVING AND WORKING IN NEW BRUNSWICK HELPED YOU IN YOUR JOURNEY?

My cultural roots are in northeastern New Brunswick. I grew up in a French-speaking environment. As a young adult, working as a guide and then as an interpreter at the Village Historique Acadien certainly contributed to the development of my pride in my Acadian and Francophone cultural identity. Studying here, then in Quebec and France, was beneficial in opening my eyes to the world of art. I consider myself lucky to have received scholarships (e.g., FCAR Quebec-Acadie and others) to study at the post-secondary level. My province also gave me the opportunity to work in a field related to the visual arts in southeastern New Brunswick. First as a visual arts teacher in schools and then as a professor of visual arts education at the University of Moncton. This allowed me to practice my art, give lectures on art, and publish scientific articles on visual arts in education. I feel privileged to have been able to work in a field related to the visual arts in my home province.  

WHAT INSPIRES YOUR CREATIVITY?

It is the thrill of discovery that inspires me to create. Making art allows me to learn about myself and the world we live in. I love seeing where the next stroke of color will land on the medium, whether it's paper, canvas, or wood. I love discovering what design will emerge from the arrangement of shapes in the space I'm exploring, whether it's a wall or floor surface. I find the images and symbols that reveal themselves during the creative process surprising. And once the work is released, I enjoy discussing its meaning with the public. Pleasure is therefore one of the components that drives my creativity.

WHAT IS YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS?

The first step, whether in painting or sculpture, is to take a walk in nature. This awakens my imagination. For example, my ideas come to me while driving, listening to music and looking at the valleys and mountains around the Bay of Fundy. Ideas usually come to me at night, which is why I often keep a notebook handy. This is how the first draft of an artistic project takes shape. The result sometimes takes the form of paintings or installations. Sometimes, both techniques are combined. The choice of materials depends on the idea to be communicated and the location where it will be displayed. 

In painting, I work by induction. I admit that I rarely know the final result of a painting, as I let the tool guide me, whether it be a paintbrush, a sponge, a brush, or my gloved hands. In general, I paint in series over a long period of time and, if possible, preferably on very large formats. 

In sculpture, my practice is different in that I opt for a deductive approach. Everything is reduced to the simplest forms. The choice of materials and symbolic objects is made in relation to the idea to be communicated. All the elements (idea and choice of materials) must therefore make sense. As a result, the research phase for 3D projects is often the stage that takes me the longest, but then the whole thing turns into a fun experience. I must admit that I take great pleasure in creating ephemeral installations live in front of an audience. The results of my ephemeral installations are documented in the form of photographs.

YOUR FUTURE PROJECTS?

My next solo exhibition of paintings will feature New Brunswick landscapes and will take place in the fall of 2025 at Gallery 12 of the Aberdeen Cultural Center in Moncton. On display will be “Climat 2025” (12 acrylics on wood), “Dans ma bulle” (14 watercolors and acrylics on paper), “À la plage proche du Cap Enragé” (5 acrylics on paper), “Mémoire de Fundy” (4 acrylics on canvas), and “En route vers Knigthville” (1 acrylic on canvas). After that, my project will be to take stock of my temporary installations and plan their follow-up.