Light has been among the principal themes in André Fournelle’s work over the past few decades – not only the glow of fire, but also that of neon, lasers and molten metal. Imbued with a geopoetic, mystical force of inspiration that often alludes to the primordial elements of earth, water, wind and fire, his work explores upheaval and the passage of time through archetypal motifs and symbolic gestures. In 1967, after working in an industrial foundry, he established the Fonderie expérimentale et collective in Pierrefonds in collaboration with Marc Boisvert. His installations and monumental works integrating art into architecture and the environment include Lumière et silence, a line of fire along the Passerelle des Arts in Paris; Spirale en néon in California’s Death Valley; Pyrophore at the Vieille Pulperie in Chicoutimi; and the pyrotechnic display at the inauguration of L’Ombre rouge, an exhibition held in 1998 at La Salpêtrière in Paris. Fournelle has represented Quebec in sculpture at the Jeux de la Francophonie and was a member of EAT (Experiment in Art and Technology), an American group created by Rauschenberg. He has shown his work in numerous institutions across Canada and abroad, such as the Brigittines Chapel in Brussels, Galerie Circa in Montreal, the Via Design Salon at the Palais des Congrès de Montréal, the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, the Penthouse Gallery in Toronto and the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal.
SEE:
« Resecare : L’installation audacieuse d’André Fournelle » by Nycole Paquin, ESPACE, vol. 7, n° 1, p. 7.
« “Et l’unique cordeau des trompettes marines” : André Fournelle, en collaboration avec Robert M. Lepage » by Françoise Le Gris, ESPACE #33, p. 25.
« Gloses sur le concept d’appropriation en arts visuels » by Monique Langlois, ESPACE #35, p. 21.
« André Fournelle : Human Love at the Heart of Things » by Pierre Restany, ESPACE #41, p. 19.
« With joy and sorrow » by Serge Fisette, ESPACE #42, p. 6.
« André Fournelle : Can weight of the soul be measured by materials » by Jean-Pierre Latour, ESPACE #47, p. 19.
« De l’objet… contaminé » by Serge Fisette, ESPACE #53, p. 35.
« Sculpture for Everyone » by Serge Fisette, ESPACE #67, p. 5.
« Sculpture, Around and About » by Serge Fisette, ESPACE #70, p. 5.
« L’Urbaine Urbanité IV, Géométrie sociale : Entretien avec Gilles Bissonnet » by Serge Fisette, ESPACE #80, p. 26.
« On the Nature of the Title » by Manon Regimbald, ESPACE #82, p. 16.
« Gilles Bissonet, André Fournelle, André Pappathomas : Voix d’eau et de feu » by Monique Duplantie, ESPACE #87, p. 41.
« Was Quebec’s Cultural Revolution Accomplished by Tossing Art in the Trash? » by Fabien Loszach, ESPACE #89, p. 12.
« André Fournelle: Black Fire » by John K. Grande, ESPACE #93, p. 37.
