Mathieu Laca - Off the wall portraiture

A painting of Alberto Giacometti by artist Mathieu Laca.

Giacometti for a Gun

Originals

Alberto Giacometti, oil on linen, 48×42″, 2017 Giacometti for a GunHow my portrait of Alberto Giacometti became the thread connecting this gay, vegan French-Canadian artist to a gun-collecting American conservative.

A portrait of contemporary American composer John Adams painted by artist Mathieu Laca

A Letter to My Favorite Contemporary Composer, John Adams

Life

John Adams, oil on linen, 42X48″, 2018 A Letter to My Favorite Contemporary Composer, John AdamsPainting American composer John Adams was an intensely personal experience for me. Here’s the letter I sent Adams to express my love for his work.

Fluo Colors – The Secret Behind the Vibrancy of My Upcoming Paintings

Life

[In Progress] Clara and Robert Schumann, 2019 Fluo Colors – The Secret Behind the Vibrancy of My Upcoming PaintingsLately, I’ve been dabbling in fluo color washes. As a painter known for my very toned-down palette, it may seem like a radical shift. It’s not.

Paintings of Jacques Derrida and a fictional cat - staring at each other eternally

The Animal That Therefore I Am: Jacques Derrida and His Cat

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Jacques Derrida, oil on linen, 24X20″, 2017 | Cat, oil on linen, 24X20″, 2017 The Animal That Therefore I Am: Jacques Derrida and His CatWe are who we think we are. But we are also who other people think we are.

A painting of Marc Séguin paired with an abstract painting representing his style

“Dear Painters”: My Love Letter to Quebec Artists

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Marc Séguin, oil on linen, 16×32″, 2018 “Dear Painters”: My Love Letter to Quebec ArtistsThe story behind a 2018 series I painted in tribute to the Quebec artists who shaped me – Marc Séguin, Charles Daudelin (sculptor), Betty Goodwin, Marcel Barbeau, and more.

Meeting a pantheon of the greatest painters in Francis Bacon's studio.

7 Reece Mews: Meeting a Pantheon of Painters in Francis Bacon’s Studio

Originals

7 Reece Mews (Cézanne, Francis Bacon, Giacometti and Rembrandt), oil on linen, 67”X91”, 2017 7 Reece Mews: A Mystical Meeting of Painters in Francis Bacon’s StudioIn this transcendent scene, I visit Francis Bacon’s studio to look in on an imagined meeting between a pantheon of familiar faces.

Nietzsche's madness crisis when meeting a horse depicted in painting.

The Turin Horse – Did Empathy Drive Nietzsche to Madness?

Originals

The Turin Horse, oil on linen, 67″X60″, 2018 The Turin Horse – Did Empathy Drive Nietzsche to Madness?In this painting, I depicted The Turin Horse in a somber scene that questions the effects empathy had on the psyche of Friedrich Nietzsche.

The ultimate portrait of the Quebecois writer Michel Tremblay with a tender gaze.

Michel Tremblay – A Look of Implacable Tenderness

Originals

Michel Tremblay, oil on linen, 46X46 inches, 2018, private collection. Michel Tremblay – A Look of Implacable TendernessVisually Michel Tremblay can only be presented frontally, without detour. There is no ambiguity in him, no enigmatic shadow, no artifice.

New Edition of Michel Tremblay Anthology Features My Portrait

Life

New Edition of Michel Tremblay Anthology Features My PortraitI’m honored to announce that my portrait of Michel Tremblay, perhaps the greatest Québécois writer, is featured on the cover of a new edition of Chronicles of the Plateau Mont Royal.

[INTERVIEW] Mathieu Laca: Flaubert’s psychedelic therapist

Life

[INTERVIEW] Mathieu Laca: Flaubert’s psychedelic therapistAn excerpt from a new interview featuring my history as a reader of Gustave Flaubert.