Rencontres

In the 1980s, there was an artistic effervescence in Baie-Saint-Paul. Renowned artists stayed there and immortalized its landscapes, making the city "the paradise of artists." To perpetuate this recognized artistic tradition, Françoise Labbé, a visionary artist and director of the Art Center at the time, created the Symposium of Young Painting in Canada. This event, held throughout August in the municipal arena, showcases painting and the artist's work in front of the public. It reflects the community's tangible commitment to art. Over time, the painting-focused event evolved into a manifestation that embraced all disciplines of visual arts, including sculpture. It became the International Symposium of Contemporary Art of Baie-Saint-Paul. The event is now internationally recognized as a significant milestone in an artist's career.

**Rencontres**

The city and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Baie-Saint-Paul, by installing Michel Saulnier's work **Rencontres** in Place du Citoyen, aimed to highlight the longevity and notoriety of the International Symposium of Contemporary Art of Baie-Saint-Paul and to revive the memory of Françoise Labbé, the founder of the event.

The sculpture features, in its upper part, two intertwined bear cubs, cast in brass. Through the warmth of the gesture and the nobility of the material, the work pays tribute to the many participants of all the symposiums and recalls the bonds woven between artists and the public. The sculpture rests on a curved pedestal with a bench emphasizing the motif of the target, the symbol of the Baie-Saint-Paul Symposium. The relationship between nature and the work (animality, vegetation) constitutes the original signature of the artist's approach. A contemporary figurative work, **Rencontres** is part of the artist's journey and invites the viewer into a dreamlike universe where the wild meets the dream...

The work was purchased with the help of the acquisition assistance program of the Canada Council for the Arts.