Marie-Eve Beaupré
Guido Molinari Foundation
General and Artistic Director
Hospitality was a central living principle for the painter, professor, poet, critic, and art theoretician Guido Molinari (1933–2004) and for Fernande Saint-Martin (1927–2019), director of the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal and a theoretician, professor, semiologist, art critic, and poet. As a couple, they contributed to the vitality of the Québec art scene for many decades.
Following in their tradition, the team at the Fondation is thrilled to host, again this year, the exhibition of works selected by the curatorial team for the auction benefiting Les éditions Esse. Every year, the Vendu–Sold auction—which, in addition to the exhibition, also includes a catalogue—offers an opportunity to discover, document, and acquire the works of remarkable Québec artists.
It seems perfectly appropriate to host this event in a space founded by an artist who, throughout his life, was a passionate collector of works by artists he admired. With support from the sharp eye and perceptive mind of his spouse and intellectual partner, Saint-Martin, whose centenary will be celebrated in 2027, Molinari built a major collection of works by Québec, Canadian, and international artists that we revisit in our exhibitions. In this sense, the couple bequeathed collections that enable us to achieve our mission.
The team at the Fondation is bound by a shared love of museology on a human scale, research contributing to art history narratives, the production of bold cultural and educational experiences, and the creation of connections among artists. For all of these reasons, we are thrilled to offer you the warmest of welcomes.
Let’s get collecting! To the benefit of the artists and Les éditions Esse!
Biographical note
Art historian and field practitioner Marie-Eve Beaupré was appointed general and artistic director of the Guido Molinari Foundation in spring 2023. Over the last twenty years, she has collaborated with institutions, museums, galleries, and artist-run centres as a conservator, curator, author, administrator, and jury member. She was Collection Curator at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (2016–23) and Curator of Contemporary Québec and Canadian Art at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (2014–16). She has also contributed to exhibitions, acquisitions, and research projects with the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (2010–14) and Galerie de l’UQAM (2004–12). Her enriching exchanges with artists over the years, as well as her work inventorying the studios of Edmund Alleyn, Sylvia Safdie, John Heward, Betty Goodwin, and Guido Molinari, have grounded her knowledge and comprehension of, and her respect for, the art ecosystem in which she participates.
Photo : © Jennifer Alleyn