Marcel Barbeau was born in Montreal, February 18, 1925. Between 1942 and 1947, he studied painting and sculpture with Paul-Emile Borduas at the École du Meuble de Montréal, where he was a student in furniture design. He became an active member of the Canadian contemporary art movement known as the Automatistes, and from 1945, he participated in all exhibitions featuring this group. Marcel Barbeau was one of the signatories of the Refus global manifesto in 1948. He traveled extensively from 1958 to 1974, living and exhibiting in Paris, New York and California.
Mainly known as a painter, he has been involved in most visual art media: drawing, sculpture, print, photography, and performance. He has created many monumental works. His art has been exhibited in Canada, in the United States, in Europe and in Northern Africa where he had many one man shows. He also participated in several international exhibitions. His works have been widely commented on in newspapers, magazines, catalogues, and art books published in Canada, France, and United States. He was also the subject of a few art films and videos among which renowned film maker Manon Barbeau’s "Barbeau Libre comme l’Art", produced by Informaction and the National Film Board of Canada (2000).
Marcel Barbeau has received numerous prizes, such as the Zack Purchase Prize from the Royal Canadian Academy (1963) and a Lynch-Staunton Foundation Grant by Canada Council (1973). In 1985, he was awarded the sculpture purchase award of the McDonald Canada Art Competition. He was invited to join the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in August 1992. In 1995, he received the Order of Canada. In 1998, Canada Post reproduced one of his works on a stamp as part of its series in honor of the automatist painters, signatories of the Refus global manifesto. He was the special guest artist at the 2003 Montreal Jazz Festival which published a limited numbered print, Django Blue, on this occasion.
Marcel Barbeau lives in Paris. His works are in many private, public and corporate collections in Canada, in the United States and in Europe among which are: the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto), the British Museum (London), the Chrysler Art Gallery (Norfolk, Virginia), the Lyon Museum of Fine Arts (Lyon, France), the National Gallery of Canada ( Ottawa), the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Montreal), the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art (Montreal), Quebec National Fine Arts Museum (Quebec), the Rose Art Museum,(Waltham, N.J.) and the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam).
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