This retrospective solo exhibition at Alpha Omega Gallery in Ottawa, which took place throughout the month of December 2022, offered visitors a privileged window on the art of the Honourable Luc Martineau, retired judge and self-taught visual artist. His final judgment: 20 years of visual art, plus a glimpse of the present period of artistic production.
More than 200 persons attended the VIP vernissage , including a selected crowd of judges, jurists, senior civil servants, professionals , artists, art lovers and collectors, designers, journalists, models, photographers, influencers. They had the occasion to hear the speech of the Chief Justice of the Federal Court the Honourable Paul Crampton and mingle with all these beautiful people, and among them , the Right Honourable MichaëlleJean and her husband who honoured the crowd of their presence on the opening night.
Do we define ourselves by our actions, our education, our family, our profession, our beliefs, our passions, or all of these at once?
I surely lack an academic background in visual arts. I am, first and foremost, a jurist who had a career as a lawyer, mediator and arbitrator before becoming a federal judge. Today, by identifying as an artist, I am taking a leap of faith. What a “beau risque”!
In 2021, I retired from the bench. It was a strange feeling… But the artist in me – I have been painting for more than 35 years – wanted to take off! What a joy to begin this new journey…
Now it is time to look forward. Who will be the artist of tomorrow? I don’t know. Even if I have not entirely left drawing, today I see myself more as a colourist who experiments with shapes. Movement, like wind, is also very important. If it is in abstract expressionism that I recognize myself, I feel equally comfortable with a form of figurative dreaming that also inspires me. It depends on the day and mood of the moment. Let’s go for an adventure!
I wish to thank Madam Edith Betkowski who curated the exhibition .This opus entitled “Final Judgment” is my way of turning the page on the legal world to be reborn in today’s world! See where my artist wings have taken me ! My case is therefore in your hands.
