Pierre Pivet's Biography

Pierre Pivet was born in Normandy, France, in 1948, moving in 1953 with his family to Paris. Interested in the arts at an early age, he went to numerous exhibitions with his brother, Remi. In 1974, he began his studies at the Academie de Port-Royal in Paris, where he was instilled with a rigorous academic education. He won first prize at the Academie in 1976 and exhibited in Paris. However, it was here that the influences of Rembrandt, Vermeer, El Greco, and others became the foundation of his artistic career. From the powerful light Rembrandt was able to create on his canvasses to the expressiveness of the brilliant strokes of El Greco, Pivet believes these great masters were his real teachers.

Later, Pivet was impacted by Cezanne's ability to express form, compostion and volume, and, Braque's new conception of reinventing space affected Pivet deeply. What is paramount in Pivet's work, though, is his stunning use of color. While perhaps he was initially influenced by the works of Gauguin and Matisse and the Fauves, in this regard, Pivet has evolved his own unique style of painting and composing his canvasses. His art is at once, an integration of his sensibilities, an explosion of color, and a reflection of his own philosophy, that is "to capture reality in a simple and direct way".

In 1982, Pivet was elected for the prestigious Prix de Monte Carlo. Pivet was the guest of honor at the Flacon Polo Club Queens Cup in Chetlamn, England, in 1987, and painted a series of "Polo" works for his solo exhibition. In 1997, the French Embassy in Panama featured his work in an exhibition in collaboration with the French Ambassador, Alain Pallu de Beaupuy.

Pivet immigrated to Canada, in 1983 and settled in Montreal. Pivet has exhibited extensively in solo and group shows throughout the world.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:

2000 Gallerie de L'Isle Montreal, Canada
2000 Gallerie Asakusa Marseille, France
1996 Habitante Art Gallery Panama City, Panama
1994 Noblesse Oblige Gallery Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

PERMANENT EXHIBITIONS:

Wallace Gallery Calgary, Canada
Harbour Gallery Toronto, Canada
Galerie Art Comparaison Paris, France

COLLECTIONS:

Pratt & Whitney, Deloitte et Touche, SNC Lavalin, Guy & Gilbert, Gaz Metropolitain, Gamma, Stude, Degranpre, Complete interior and exterior of Tsirco Restaurant, Montreal.