Claude Tousignant Canadian, b. 1932

Claude Tousignant is a Canadian painter born in Montreal in 1932, recognized as one of the leading figures of geometric abstraction in Quebec and Canada. He studied at the École des beaux-arts de Montréal, and briefly at the School of Art and Design of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, where he was quickly influenced by modernist movements, particularly Suprematism, Constructivism, and the Bauhaus. Early in his career, he adopted a rigorously formal approach to painting, rejecting figuration to explore the optical, perceptual, and emotional dimensions of color.

In the 1960s, Tousignant gained attention for his iconic "targets"—circular canvases composed of concentric rings in vibrant colors. These works, emblematic of post-painterly abstraction and the Plasticiens movement, aim to provoke a direct sensory experience in the viewer. By eliminating any narrative or symbolic reference, Tousignant sought to reduce painting to its purest essence—form, color, and light—in a pursuit of aesthetic purity.

Represented in major collections, including the National Gallery of Canada and the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Claude Tousignant has received numerous awards and honors. His work, marked by intellectual rigor, continues to inspire contemporary artists and to stimulate reflection on the role of abstraction in today's art. Through a career shaped by both experimentation and consistency, Tousignant has played a pivotal role in redefining modern pictorial language in Quebec.