Jordi Bonet

Jordi Bonet, known professionally as Jordi Bonet (7 May 1932 – 25 December 1979), was a Spanish-born Canadian painter, ceramist, muralist, and sculptor who worked principally in Quebec.

Life and work

Born in Barcelona, Spain of Catalan origin, he lost his right arm at the age of 9. His childhood would be marked by the Spanish Civil War. He studied art in Barcelona. He began working in paint and ceramic before expanding his focus to include metal and concrete reliefs.

He emigrated to Canada in 1954, establishing himself in Quebec, where he continued his studies. After briefly returning to Spain, he established an atelier in Mont-Saint-Hilaire in 1960. Over the next 20 years, he created more than 100 works in Quebec and abroad, and associated with major art figures such as Salvador Dalí.

In 1964, he was commissioned by the Government of Sierra Leone to deliver the mural which can still be seen at the front of the Bank of Sierra Leone building, in the capital, Freetown. His signature is situated at the bottom right-hand of the mural, with the words "Jordi Bonet '64".

In 1967, Jordi Bonet created '' The Inuit Family'', a rotunda that represents life in northern Newfoundland and Labrador, the work is located inside the main entrance of the Charles S. Curtis Memorial Hospital, Saint Anthony, Canada.

His relief in the Grand Théâtre de Québec created a scandal in 1971 because of the line "''Vous êtes pas écœurés de mourir bande de caves? C'est assez !''" ("Aren't you sick of dying, you gang of idiots? Enough!") incorporated into it, a quotation from the poet Claude Péloquin.
Among his other major works are the relief ''L’homme devant la science'
on the west facade of the Pavillon Adrien-Pouliot of Université Laval in Quebec
Citius, Altius, Fortius'' in the Montreal Metro station Pie-IX;
''Hommage à Gaudí'', a cycle of wall sculptures in Place des Arts in Montreal; the Halifax Explosion Memorial Sculpture; and a set of stained-glass windows and sculptures in Our Lady of the Skies Chapel at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. He was particularly interested in sacred works, creating artworks and liturgical objects for churches and convents in Quebec, Ontario, and elsewhere. Galerie L'Art français exhibited his works from the 1950s.

He was one of Quebec's major artists when he died of leukemia at the age of 47.

Honours

* Royal Canadian Academy of Arts

Photos

File:Jordi Bonet mural (Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School).jpg, Relief sculpture at Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School on the campus of and affiliated with the University of Chicago
File:Moncton mural 387.jpg, Mosaic in Moncton, New Brunswick
File:Halifax Explosion Memorial Sculpture (1985).jpg, '' Halifax Explosion Memorial Sculpture'' in Halifax, Nova Scotia
File:Pavillon Adrien-Pouliot.jpg, Mural on the Adrien-Pouliot Building of Laval University, Quebec City
File:Resurgence by Jordi Bonet.jpg, ''Resurgence'' (1977), in the lobby of the Oceanic Tower in Vancouver
File:Bank of SL front 1 Ade Daramy April 2011 DSC 0627.jpg, Mural on the front of The Bank of Sierra Leone building in Freetown
File:Untitled (Relief Sculpture Doors, Jordi Bonet).jpg, Detail view of an untitled relief, National Arts Centre, Ottawa

File:960711_08_2424_3640_La_famille_inuite.jpg, Fishing - With his arms outstretched to the sky, a Newfoundland fisherman salutes the abundance of cod.
File:960711_09_2424_3640_La_chasse.jpg, Hunting: Snowshoe trails run along a devastation of animals, they represent hunting and trapping in Labrador

File:960711_10_2424_3640_La_famille_inuite.jpg, Woman, man and son stand in front of the opening of their tent
File:960711_11_2424_3640_La_famille_inuite.jpg, The boy's expressive face suggests that he is a portrait
File:960711_13_2424_3640_La_famille_inuite.jpg, These people wear traditional clothing
File:960711_14_2424_3640_La_famille_inuite.jpg, The Indians: snowshoes on backs, two Women walk on a path, like in a cabin, we see kitchen utensils and a mirror

See also

* List of Canadian artists
* Jordi-Bonet Bridge linking Mont-Saint-Hilaire and Belœil (french)
* Jordi-Bonet bridge, toponymy, origin and meaning (french), Montérégie

References

External links

* Jordi Bonet (1932-1979), artiste plasticien
biographie (french)

* Jordi Bonet
biography
The Canadian encyclopedia 2008
* Jordi Bonet, mura

(plus vite, plus haut, plus fort), in Montreal metro
* Public art Montreal city
L'homme soleil 1975

Soleiada : L’Homme soleil
(french)
* Rétrospective 2020 (french
Jordi Bonet: plus que l’homme d’une murale

L'homme devant la science 1963
photos, Kalos library, Laval University, Quebec

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonet, Jordi
1932 births
1979 deaths
Sculptors from Quebec
Sculptors from Catalonia
Canadian ceramists
Canadian muralists
Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
Canadian amputees
Canadian artists with disabilities
Spanish emigrants to Canada
Deaths from leukemia in Canada
Deaths from cancer in Quebec
20th-century Canadian sculptors
20th-century Canadian painters
Canadian male painters
20th-century ceramists
20th-century Canadian male artists