Georges Delrue

Georges Delrue 1920 – 2010, one of Canadas most important Artistic Jewellers, he and his wife Denyse Delrue were prominent in Montreal in the 1950s and 1960s in the arts, Georges for his avante-garde designs in gold and silver works of art and Denyse who was equally well known for her involvement in several major art galleries.

An article in the Vie des Arts in 1964 by Jacques De Roussan describes Delrue and his work:

The artist, regardless of his chosen field, is constantly searching for
new dimensions to set him free from the engulfing routine and master
Montreal jeweler Georges Delrue, in search of plastic reality, is no
exception.

For Delrue, it is not enough to explore all the various facets of a
particular artistic style. He must regularly break from it and create new
forms, forms which are satisfying to the spirit and bring new meaning
to the material itself. For the artist, it is a matter of constantly surpassing
himself.

Delrue works in metal and manages each time to produce a work with
new spontaneity. Each new piece seems to have more fluidity of movement
and a new feeling of warmth. Delrue’s art is one in which the
spiritual feeling springs from its spontaneity.

The artist works with melted wax and sculpts a mould which is
heated and hardened. The cast, to which the metal is affixed, is used
only once and the piece of jewellery thus becomes unique.

Artistic, technical and handicraft techniques arc called into play in
this work and the net result of these various skills is a spontaneity that
is never hindered by the material involved. It is an abstraction which
emanates from nature and always remains intimately a part of nature.
It is not surprising that a jewel has always fascinated man and, of
course, woman.

Delrues work can be seen in major museums and collections including

• Musee Les Arts Decoratifs Paris
• The National Gallery of Canada.

For an important reference and exhibition of Quebec artists jewellery see :
JEWELLERY AND ARTISTIC MODERNITY: the beginning of art jewellery in Quebec (1950-1970)
This exhibition observes the beginning of art jewellery in Quebec in the context of modernity from 1950 to 1970. Approaching the subject chronologically, this exhibition displays a jewellery selection illustrating the influence of the modernist movement in Quebecs visual arts, through the affirmation of jewellery as a form of artistic expression. This exhibition presented the unique creations of Quebec jewellers Georges Delrue, Maurice Brault, George Brooks, Hans Gehrig, Walter Schluep and Georges Schwartz.

Also, some historically significant modern paintings and sculptures from Quebec were be integrated to the exhibition, allowing the viewer to observe the aesthetic, formal and stylistic similarities with the different artistic trends which have influenced Quebecs cultural landscape at the time. See Valerie Cote s excellent theses on modern Quebec jewellery: http://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/7308/1/Cote_MA_S2011.pdf