Biography

(cliquez ici pour la version en français)

Louise Ladouceur was born in Montreal on October 6, 1950. From a young age, she was particularly drawn to drawing and hands-on crafts. She stood out for these talents in school. Early on, she showed a curiosity for the world of visual art and dance. Her first career choice was in fashion design. After finishing high school, she studied sewing and fashion design. She quickly realized that her real interest lay in the visual arts.

In 1970, she began her studies in fine arts at CEGEP du Vieux-Montréal. She went on to UQAM to earn a bachelor’s degree in visual arts. It was an exciting time for printmaking in Quebec. She chose to focus on engraving in her course selections. She discovered Japanese woodblock prints, which led her to choose wood engraving as her printmaking technique. During this period, she traveled to New York on trips organized jointly by the university and Atelier Graff. She was drawn to the city’s cultural energy and became acquainted with the Graff community. This influence led her to join the workshop at the end of her studies.

The year before she became involved in engraving, she trained further in haute couture, thinking she might pursue clothing design. This interest led her to create a line of hand-painted clothing. She found success with her hand-painted t-shirt collections. She landed design contracts for clothing companies in New York, creating designs primarily used for t-shirts and African-style garments.

Around the same time, she took up painting, favoring gouache as her medium. She has maintained a parallel body of work in this technique ever since. Woodcut printmaking (xylography) remains the core of her practice. She has participated in numerous events at Atelier Graff and is recognized as the resident artist for the wood engraving technique.

She has taught classes, given demonstrations, and occasionally led groups of young visitors. She has also lent her printmaking skills to other artists. Louise Ladouceur has held solo exhibitions in Quebec. Internationally, she has exhibited in group shows in Spain, Italy, France, Japan, and the United States. Her work is held in numerous private and public collections. She is a member of ARPRIM (the Quebec printmakers’ association) and Xylon, an association of wood engravers. She lives and works in Montreal.