1956

Paris: 1956

1956 - 1957

The exhibition A Selection from the Ayala and Sam Zacks Collection. Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Paintings and Drawings shows in Toronto. It will then travel to the National Gallery of Canada, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and the Vancouver Art Gallery. Borduas exhibits Terre vierge, 1955 (Gagnon, 1978, p. 496).

January 26 - February 6

Borduas shows Carnet de bal, 1955, and L'Impatience au point jaune, 1955, in the Art d'aujourd'hui exhibition held at the L'Actuelle Gallery. Other artists included in the exhibition were Sam Francis, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Jean-Paul Mousseau, Gilles Corbeil, Jean McEwen and Patersen Ewen (Gagnon, 1978, p. 495; Écrits I, p. 43).

February

Exhibition of the First Biennial Exhibition of Canadian Painting (first held at the National Gallery of Canada in May and June 1955; will travel till August 1956 to thirteen Canadian cities), at the Calgary Allied Arts Centre. Borduas shows Bonaventure, 1954 (Gagnon, 1978, p. 493; Gagnon, 1988, p. 471).

February 8

Janine leaves for Canada (Écrits I, p. 43).

March

Exhibition of the First Biennial Exhibition of Canadian Painting (first held at the National Gallery of Canada in May and June 1955; will travel till August 1956 to thirteen Canadian cities), at the Musée de la Province de Québec in Québec City. Borduas shows Bonaventure, 1954 (Gagnon, 1978, p. 493; Gagnon, 1988, p. 471).

April

Exhibition of the First Biennial Exhibition of Canadian Painting (first held at the National Gallery of Canada in May and June 1955; will travel until August 1956 to thirteen Canadian cities), in Sackville (N.S.) at the Sackville Art Association. Borduas shows Bonaventure, 1954 (Gagnon, 1978, p. 493; Gagnon, 1988, p. 471).

April 12 - 20

Travels to Switzerland (Écrits I, p. 43).

April 20

Death of Borduas’ mother, Éva Perreault (Écrits I, p. 43).

May

Exhibition of the First Biennial Exhibition of Canadian Painting (first held at the National Gallery of Canada in May and June 1955; will travel until August 1956 to thirteen Canadian cities), at the Saint John Art Club in St. John, (N. B.) Borduas shows Bonaventure, 1954 (Gagnon, 1978, p. 493; Gagnon, 1988, p. 471).

May 22 - June 9

Exhibition of watercolours at the Agnès Lefort Gallery in Montreal (Écrits I, p. 43; Gagnon, 1978, p. 495). Among the recorded titles were:

• Au fil des coquille, 1950
• Souvenir d'Égypte, 1950
• Eau fraîche, 1950-1951

May 30 - June 25

Takes part in the Les artistes Canadiens exhibition held at the Maison des étudiants canadiens, Paris (Écrits I, p. 43; Gagnon, 1978, p. 495; 1988, p. 472).

June - July

Exhibition of the First Biennial Exhibition of Canadian Painting (first held at the National Gallery of Canada in May and June 1955; will travel until August 1956 to thirteen Canadian cities), at the London Public Library and Art Museum, London, Ontario. Borduas shows Bonaventure, 1954 (Gagnon, 1978, p. 493; Gagnon, 1988, p. 471).

June 4 - September 3

Participates in the Panorama de la peinture à Montréal exhibition held at the Hélène-de-Champlain restaurant (Écrits I, p. 43); exhibits Translucidité, 1955, and Mazurka, 1955, (Gagnon, 1978, p. 495).

June 8 - July 3

Participates in the Quelques peintres canadiens de 1956 traveling exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. (Écrits I, p. 43).

June 9 and 11

Publication in Le Devoir of Questions et réponses from Jean-René Ostiguy and Borduas (Écrits I, p. 43).

August

Exhibition of the First Biennial Exhibition of Canadian Painting (first held at the National Gallery of Canada in May and June 1955; will travel until August 1956 to thirteen Canadian cities), at Mount Alison University, Sackville (N.B.). Borduas shows Bonaventure, 1954 (Gagnon, 1978, p. 493; Gagnon, 1988, p. 471).

August

Borduas shows 5 paintings in the Arts du Québec exhibition held at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, during the Festival de Montréal; the list of the works shown has not been found (Gagnon 1978, p. 495).

September 26 - November 9

Travels to Italy: visits Naples (September 28), stays in Taormina (October 1-6), Syracuse (October 7), Tripani (October 9), Messine (October 11), and returns, on October 12, to Taormina. Leaves Taormina on October 22; visits Pompeii (October 25-27) and Genes (October 30). Returns to Paris at the beginning of November (Écrits I, p. 43).

October 1956 - December 1957

Participates in the Canadian Abstract Paintings exhibition organized by the National Gallery of Canada for the Smithsonian Institution. The exhibition will circulate within the United States to the following cities: Aurora (N.Y.); Rochester (N.Y.); Manchester (Conn.); Wilmington (Ohio); Lamont (Conn.); Exeter (N.H.); Macon (Ga) (Gagnon, 1978, p. 496). Borduas shows :

• No 7. Retour d'anciens signes emprisonnés, 1953
• No 8. bonaventure, 1954
• No 9. Froissements délicats, 1955
• No 10. Fête nautique, 1955
• No 11. Bourdonnement d'été, 1955

October 1956 - March 1957

Participates in the Quelques peintres canadiens-français travelling exhibition organized by the National Gallery of Canada that circulates in the Maritime Provinces (Gagnon, 1978, p. 496). Borduas shows:

• Sans nom, (195?)
• Cep, 1955
• L'Impatience au point jaune, 1955

November

Participates in the Canadian Abstract Paintings traveling exhibition, organized by the National Gallery of Canada for the Smithsonian Institution of Washington. The exhibition will circulate from October 1956 to December 1957 in eight American cities (Écrits I, p. 43-44; Gagnon, 1978, p. 496). Borduas shows :

• No 7. Retour d'anciens signes emprisonnés, 1953
• No 8. bonaventure, 1954
• No 9. Froissements délicats, 1955
• No 10. Fête nautique, 1955
• No 11. Bourdonnement d'été, 1955

December

Participates in the Christmas Exhibition of Canadian painters held at the Dominion Gallery in Montréal (Gagnon, 1978, p. 496).