Donald Jean-Louis

Donald (Don) Jean-Louis was born in Hull, Quebec, but grew up in Ottawa. A largely self-taught artist, his first solo show was at The Isaacs Gallery in Toronto in 1961, and then internationally. Don worked, along with other artists, in the television news graphics department at CBC for 25 years. This experience led him to devise one of the first interactive works in Canada, shown at The Isaacs Gallery in 1969, titled "The Nature of the Media is to Expose," and then another media work titled "All the N.E.W.S." in 1980. His work in the 1970s and 1980s he utilized neon and a personal vision for photography, but continuing to paint and draw. He was awarded two major public art commissions; for a Government of Canada building in North York Toronto, 1976 (made of neon and sail cloth), and a hanging sculpture (based on a maple key) for the atrium of the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, in 1990. Don was a sessional instructor at the Ontario College of Art for a period in the mid-1970s and in 1978, was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. He moved from Toronto to Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island in 1996. The Robert McLaughlin Gallery (Oshawa, Ontario) and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria collaborated on survey exhibition in 2006, which toured to other public galleries in Ontario through 2009. In the exhibition publication, Don wrote about a proposal, but never realized, for the 1967 Montreal Expo: "a sensory response sculpture with the title "The Irenicon Fields." The word "Irenicon" is a theological term used for the purpose of negotiating peace and finding ways and steps to resolve conflict." This is one indication of his broad interests and "engine of curiosity." Nothing was too small; he observed the world with wonder and reverence. An email could come with a phone video-clip of the play of light in a room, or rain falling on a windowpane. A walk on the Qualicum beach could be paused by reflections on sand, stones, and shells. His work and life were never separated. Every conversation, and in small social occasions, would be ripe with a soft-voiced humour and unexpected free associations. Don's artworks are represented public collections across Canada, including the National Gallery, Art Gallery of Ontario, the Art Museum at the University of Toronto, Art Gallery of Hamilton, Agnes Etherington Art Centre at Queen's University, The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Vancouver Art Gallery, University of British Columbia at Okanagan, and the Musée d'art contemporain in Montreal. Don is survived by daughters Lalena, who was at his side for the last three years, and Galie, and is fondly remembered by friends and colleagues. One museum worker wrote on hearing of his passing, "He was so lovely every time he came to visit. He was generous with his time and speaking about his work."