Early Life, Family and Training

Michel Pellus enters the world in Montreal, Canada, on January 24, 1945. He is born into a lineage defined by the visual arts. His grandfather, Guillaume-Ernest Pellus, arrived in Quebec in 1912; a painter and master glassmaker, he established a family tradition of craftsmanship. This legacy continues through Michel's parents. His father, Raymond Pellus, serves as a painter, professor, and president of the Association des professeurs à l'École des beaux-arts de Montréal. His mother, Yvette Roy Pellus, is a painter and gallerist operating in the United States.

The education of Michel Pellus follows a standard path through Montreal, where he completes both his primary and secondary studies. Despite the deep artistic roots of his family and the academic environment surrounding his father, Michel Pellus develops his craft as a self-taught artist. He does not follow the formal academic route of his predecessors, instead forging an independent path through practice and observation.

Artistic Style and Technique

Pellus operates within a framework he calls "subjective realism." His early output leans into a sense of cosmic duality, where realistic figures are dropped into fantasy landscapes. These scenes carry a heavy dose of humor and optimism, often utilizing rich symbolism to bridge the gap between the tangible and the imagined. A child’s perspective might transform a window view into a world of grape-colored clouds and highways floating in midair.

As his career progresses, the work shifts toward a highly modern photographic look. He achieves this through a virtuosic technique in oil, creating larger-than-life images of contemporary urban culture and fashionable women. The precision of his brushwork lends a sharp, immediate quality to the canvas, capturing specific moments in time with a sense of hyper-realism. This technical precision extends to his printmaking, where he specializes in lithograph and serigraph techniques.

• Le Cliché (1977)
• Flights of Fancy
• Joueuses De Croquet (1990)

Life and Activity in Different Regions

The late 1970s find Pellus in the urban density of New York City’s SoHo. This period of residence provides a sharp contrast to his later movements. By 1983, the scene shifts entirely. He decamps to the remote isolation of Elizabeth Island in the Bahamas, a location where he remains until 1988. It is a defining period of solitude. Paradoxically, while living on this deserted island, he produces striking cityscapes of New York City street scenes.

The late 1980s bring a move to South Florida, where he settles and continues his practice. His creative output remains constant through these geographic shifts, moving from the fantasy landscapes of his early years toward a more sociological hyper-realism. He currently works in England.

Notable Works and Museum Collections

The visual record of Pellus's career is anchored in both printmaking and large-scale oil paintings. His lithographic work includes Flights of Fancy and the 1977 print Le Cliché. These works often capture a sense of cosmic duality, placing realistic figures within fantasy landscapes. In 1999, he produced the oil on canvas Chantal, a work that reflects his technical precision. His output also encompasses various other lithographs and oils that explore the intersection of urban life and the imagination.

Public recognition of his practice is evident in the institutions that house his pieces. His paintings are held within the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal and the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. His art has also been on display at the Louvre in Paris, France. These collections preserve a body of work that spans from his early explorations of symbolism to his later, more sociological hyper-realism.