LA RAZA GROUP - QUÉBEC

Joséane Brunelle - Painter, muralist, scriptwriter and musician.
Joséane Brunelle was born in Montreal in 1964, into a home where she was taught to appreciate art from a very young age.  From the moment she could hold a pencil, she began drawing faces - always fascinated with the extraordinary and powerful emotions, conveyed through such subtle movements.  Through the years, Joséane has never found a subject richer in semantics and expression than portraiture, which holds a fundamental place in the history of art.  Willem de Kooning was once asked: “How could one still paint faces?” to which he responded: ”How can one not”?  A person is a universe, and to Joséane, an endless source of inspiration.

G. Scott MacLeod - Multimedia artist, musician, director and muralist.
Member of RAAV, Montreal Film Group, Main Film, ELAN, La Raza Group He is a fellow at The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico and Concordia Fine Art Alumni.

Born in Red Deer, Canada, Scott received his BFA at Concordia University, his D.E.C. at John Abbott College. In 1986 he was awarded a residency at The Banff Centre of Fine Arts on the Tevie and Arliss Miller Scholarship, in 1988 he attended the Uffizi Print and Drawing Room in Florence on the Elizabeth T. Greenshields Foundation to study Master drawings and prints. In 1992 he was awarded a residency at the Leighton Artist Colony at The Banff Centre for the Arts to produce work for his Owe Canada Owe Quebec series, in 1993 Scott received a Canada Council Explorations Grant for his Black ’47 Irish Famine painting and video installation, in 1999 he received the William Blair Bruce Fine Art Travel Scholarship and a Canada Council Travel Grant and for his Ancestral Homes project in Norway. In 2005 he produced his Sacred Feminine and Masculine photo/video installation on a Conseil des arts et des Lettre du Quebec A Grant. In 2006 he was awarded a Main Film production grant for After the war with Hannelore and the SAGAMIE digital photo residency for his Goddes and Gods/Contemporary Archetypes video installation.

Scott has presented his work in Canada, Mexico, Germany, Ireland, Czech Republic, and the USA. His work has been collected by, National Gallery of Canada, Musée de Québec, Museo Nacional de la Estampa, Guinness Corporation, Air Canada, The Royal Bank of Canada, Pratt and Whitney, Readers Digests, Claridge, Velan Valves Inc., The McAuslan Brewery, London Life, CP Hotels, and Lotto Québec. He is a member of La Raza Group and is represented by the Jens Thielsen Gallery in London, Ontario, the Darrell Bell Gallery in Saskatoon and AXIS Contemporary Art in Calgary Alberta. He is presently the artist in residence and the McAuslan Visitor Centre. His work can be seen at www.macleod9.com

“I have made it my life’s work to explore history, mythology and story telling in my art making process whether it be painting, photography, music or film in the hope to better understand where we have come from, who we are and where we are going. Joseph Campbell believed it is our myths that define us and I have defined myself in my work and created my own ‘myth’ or life path through my work. Art has made me humble, it has fed and sheltered me, given me a voice, and enabled me to do the same for others, through mentoring and outreach work. And as a result of this work I have better understood humanity’s place on this planet and have tried to be a positive influence for political and social change.”

Tristan Tondino - Painter, muralist, scriptwriter and musician.
Tristan was born in Montreal, in 1961. From a very young age, he was surrounded by various artist-friends of his father, Montreal painter, Gentile Tondino R.C.A.  In this environment, debates over art occurred on a day to day basis, and as a result, Tristan developed an appreciation for vastly divergent views on art which stimulated him to enroll in philosophy at McGill University. His studies geared him toward Irrealism as a basis for an art form, which he currently explores and elucidates in each of his art works. 

Guillaume Corpart Muller – Photographer
Born in France, Guillaume followed his family at the age of six as they emigrated to Canada. From that point onward Guillaume was challenged with the identity loss of blending three cultures: French from birth, Canadian in spirit, and Quebecer at heart.

In desire to understand the richness of the Quebec culture, Guillaume found refuge in photography, enabling the discreet blend of historic reporting with cultural appreciation. The documentary approach quickly led to the desire to further get involved in the living and understanding of foreign cultures.

In 2001 Guillaume moved to Mexico, where he has been living since. Mexico’s extremely rich and conflicting history has rendered it a haven for the artistic spirit. With over 280 native languages actively spoken, Mexico offers hundreds of cultural events and lifestyles, from Monterrey to San Juan Chomula.

Guillaume’s images have appeared in multiple magazines, including the cover page of “Le Petit Journal de Mexico” in January 2004. Since, some have been used for commercial purposes such as greeting cards while others appeared on corporate brochures. In 2004 one of Guillaume’s pictures received the 22nd prize in AGFA International’s night photo contest (12,000 participants entered).

Guillaume is an active photographer of the daily events and images that contribute to the social and cultural world that surrounds us. Using the universal language of images to communicate and share differences.

LA RAZA GROUP - ONTARIO

Francis John Caprani - Painter, printmaker and muralist.
Born in Dublin, Ireland, studied printmaking at La Centre in Geneva, Switzerland with Daniel Divorne, studied Fine Arts at Concordia University and received his D.E.C. at Dawson College. He has received grants from the Elizabeth T. Greenshields Foundation and Canada Council. Francis has exhibited in Canada, Mexico, Germany, Switzerland and Ireland and he has work in the Musee d'Estampes Geneva, Switzerland Centre de Gravure National Gallery, the Musée de Québec and the Museo Nacional de la Estampa, Mexico. He is a member of La Raza Group and is represented by the Jens Thielsen Gallery in London, Ontario. His work can be seen at www.serraz.com

Sylvia Curtis-Norcross - Writer, painter and muralist.
It is easier to be a world citizen as an artist. Our language is universal, our collective histories remembered and relevant, our values often shared and delightfully our habits as familiar as the act of washing out paint brushes or sharpening a pencil – properly, with a knife.
Working collectively is about this connection, and is an enforced realization that there is no singular expression of these thoughts or experiences –all is as Schopenhauer wrote “a ceaseless becoming”, and so everything is raw material, everything is relevant and the process is vital.
I travel to see how it is we all deal with our human condition, to see how those accommodations send ripples of effect around the world.  I continue these explorations as I work them through text, drawing, painting and prose projects.

David Gerald Pedros - Painter, printmaker and muralist.
Born in Montreal, Canada, Gerald studied printmaking at La Centre in Geneva, Switzerland with Daniel Divorne, received his BFA and Master in Fine Arts at Concordia University and received his D.E.C. at Dawson College. He has been awarded grants from the Elizabeth T. Greenshields Foundation, Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council. Gerald has exhibited in Canada, Mexico, Germany, Switzerland and Ireland and has work in the National Gallery, the Musée de Québec, Museo Nacional de la Estampa, Mexico, Musee d'Estampes Geneva, Switzerland Centre de Gravure, Guinness Brewery, Consulate General of Morocco, Teleglobe Canada, London Life of Canada, University of Western Ontario, Canadian Art Bank, Air Canada Corporation, and Museum London. Gerald is a member of La Raza Group and is represented by the Jens Thielsen Gallery in London, Ontario. His work can be seen at www.geraldpedros.com

LA RAZA GROUP - BRITISH COLUMBIA 

Alberto Cerritos - Painter, sculptor, digital artist and muralist.
Alberto Cerritos was born in San Salvador, El Salvador. He graduated from la Escuela de Pintura de la Dirección General de Bellas Artes de El Salvador in 1967 and from la Academia Nacional de Escultura Uquxkah in 1970.
His small bronze sculptures maintain a direct relationship with his stone monuments through their unity of form and space. From his small drawings to his large canvasses, his work is characterized by a strong and personal symbolism related to contemporary language.

His work has been presented in group and solo shows in San Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico D.F, Monterrey, Puebla, Oaxaca, Guadalajara, New York, Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, San Francisco, Oakland, Vancouver,Barcelona, Madrid, Rioja, Spain, Argentina and Changchun, China.

In 1993 he traveled in a cultural Canadian tour to West Africa for exhibitions and painting murals to Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Senegal.
He has been a member of the Sociedad de Artistas Plasticos Mexicanos (SOMART) since 1987, and of Arts in Action Society from 1989 to 1993.

Actually he is a member of (UNARTES) The Salvadorian Society for Artists and Writers as well of (COMAV) The Worldwide Visual Arts Council. He represents both of them in Canada.
He is a member of La Raza Group from Montreal, Canada, as well the Founder and actual Chairman of Group 21 Plus which represents visual artists from 34 countries.
Since 1995 up to date he has been dedicated to develop Digital Art as well to the research and developments of an Aesthetics for the Third Millennium and Complex Art. cerritos.cyberbro.com

Esther Rausenberg - Photographer.
Esther Rausenberg is a photographer who started her career in Vancouver Canada, where she still lives. She studied photography initially through her high school photography programme, and since then has forged a unique direction and vision. She melds grittiness and realism with a poetic eye: “ I have always seen the world as a series of cinematic shots - somewhat akin to a really slow motion picture playing. Light and form are the keys…”

Esther brings an international perspective to her work. She travels extensively, and different series reflect Asian, Latin American and South American themes, as well as that of west-coast environments. She is always charged by the distinctiveness of urban and rural locales, working primarily in black and white. Recently, she began using colour film to capture the ever-changing moods of the season, the hidden corners of her neighbourhood of East Vancouver. She used film exclusively for this series, and the only manipulation was achieved by cross-processing the film (using slide film that is then printed as if it were the negative in conventional print processes). Through this approach, she evokes a mood that is both familiar and surreal.

As a member of the Canadian public art group La Raza, Esther was the documentary photographer for this group’s recent tours of Argentina (2006) and Mexico (2005) in a cultural exchange to paint murals. At the same time, she developed another series of photographs reflecting cemeteries/shrines in Mexico, Argentina and Canada. These images form the basis for a series addressing how different cultures view, memorialize and ritualize death.

Richard Tetrault - Painter, printmaker and muralist.
Richard Tetrault is a Canadian painter, printmaker and muralist. Tetrault has lived and worked in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver for more than thirty years, making this are of the city one of the main focuses of his work. At the same time, as a member of public art groups Arts in Action, and more recently, La Raza, Tetrault has collaborated on mural projects in Canada, The United States, Mexico, Africa and Argentina.

Richard Tetrault has exhibited internationally in more than fifty solo and group exhibitions. He has worked in Germany as an artist in Residence, and as well has participated in numerous travelling print and painting shows. His murals can be seen in community centres, housing cooperatives, public schools and other venues.

“Tetrault’s murals don’t replicate grim reality. Mind you, neither do they sanitize it. Let us say, instead, these portraits of the city are both true and transformative.” The Vancouver Sun

A recent book, called Painted Lives and Shifting Landscapes (Anvil Press 2004), highlight in 160 pages several decades of the artists work in prints, murals and paintings, and Signs of the Times, a book of poetry by Bud Osborn and illustrated by Richard, recently won a national book award for design.