Justin Rousseau

Justin Rousseau is an emerging mixed-media artist based in Toronto. His work across creative industries, including fashion and beauty, greatly influence his work as a visual artist in the mediums of drawing, painting, sculpture, and film. His practice explores the visual representation of the self, how we see and feel about ourselves, our ideas surrounding conventions, cultural representations, and perceptions of beauty. Rousseau is a graduate of Ontario College of Art and Design in Drawing and Painting.

In Justin’s ‘silk paintings’, as he describes them, the creative process involves sourcing naturally dyed fabrics and arranging the material in various compositions led by colour and contrast. Each block and sliver of colour is collaged together with evident care and intention. Individual colours find their place in the minimal work which references purity of form and focuses on materiality, creating tension across the surface with sewn elements stretched across wooden bars. This delicate process exemplifies the artist’s expertise as fabrics with different weights, weaves, and fibre compositions are stretched with even tension to create a cohesive artwork. The labour intensive process of setting the fabric is the final physical step in the creation of the work. The interconnectivity between materiality, process, harmony, and balance are key elements in building Justin’s large scale meditative work.