Michel T. Desroches

Exhibition Website

Mar 21 2019 - Jul 7 2019

The intensely expressive artwork of Michel T. Desroches arises from the artist’s desire to communicate and represent that which has no physical form. While Desroches’ paintings are visibly faces, they are not portraits of people but rather visages of hopes, dreams, emotions and other ephemeral concepts. The lines that Desroches lays on canvas with a proprietary brush and technique are done rapidly and with the intent of capturing the emotion he wants in the painting rather than forming the features of the face. 

Desroches’ desire to portray intense emotions originated largely from his work as an Art Therapist with people suffering from mental and emotional illness. In their faces, he often saw a rapid cacophony of intense naked emotion — both simple and complex – as well as the simultaneous dichotomy of suffering and strength exposed in their countenances. 

Though Desroches’ style originates in Art Brut and is heavily influenced by both Symbolism and Fauvism, it is entirely unique, defying simplistic categorization. 

Born in 1970, Michel T. Desroches is a native of Montreal, Canada. He began his artistic career as a self-taught artist, later pursuing a degree at the University of Quebec at Montreal. He has participating in more than two dozen exhibitions since first showing his work to the public in 2007 and on December 2017 presented his work at the Louvre in Paris, France as part of the prestigious Salon des Beaux Arts.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website 

  • Painting
  • Canadian
  • Contemporary
  • Michel T. Desroches

Exhibition Venues & Dates