Pierre Debain’s legacy explored in retrospective exhibition

Tashi Farmilo

Pierre Debain : le parcours d’un artiste dévoué, now open at Espace Pierre-Debain, traces the life and work of a man whose artistic vision and tireless cultural labour helped shape the identity of the Outaouais. Curated by Kali Kim Lindsay Sabourin and Philippe Bourdeau, with contributions from Simon Debain, the exhibition offers a rare and intimate view of an artist who left as much behind in bricks, ink, and community as he did on canvas.

Born in 1923 in Belfort, France, Pierre Debain’s journey was marked by war, exile, and a lifelong search for meaning through creative practice. The son of Colonel Paul Debain, he spent his adolescence in Algeria and Morocco, losing his mother, Lucie Bousson, at the age of eighteen. Soon after, he joined the French army during the Second World War. Captured and held as a prisoner, he later fought in the Allied advance into Alsace in 1945. These early experiences of loss, survival, and displacement remained quietly present throughout his work.

After the war, while Pierre Debain was employed as a surveyor in Algeria, a family connection unexpectedly changed his future. A Christian Brother from Ottawa, who had once taught a young woman named Yvette Bond, visited France and met Colonel Paul Debain. During their conversation, the Brother mentioned that Yvette Bond had expressed an interest in corresponding with a young Frenchman. The two men arranged the introduction. Letters were exchanged between Pierre Debain and Yvette Bond for two years, until Pierre Debain crossed the Atlantic to marry her.

Pierre Debain and Yvette Bond settled in Hull, raised four children, and began building what would become a lifelong partnership not only in marriage but in art and public life. In the 1960s, surrounded by an emerging network of artists, they co-founded the Service d’Épanouissement Communautaire de l’Outaouais, supported regional exhibitions, and participated in the cultural revival of western Quebec. Yvette Bond became increasingly active in nationalist politics, while Pierre Debain dedicated himself to drawing, painting, and collaborative arts initiatives.

Their most lasting contribution came in 1975, when the couple opened L’Imagier, the region’s first independent art gallery. Pierre Debain drafted the building plans himself and, with the help of their children, neighbours, and friends, constructed the gallery from salvaged barn wood. Yvette Bond assumed the role of director. The gallery quickly became a vital space for artists in the region, operating without public funding for its first decade, sustained only by their personal resources and commitment.

The current exhibition presents a body of work that spans decades and several artistic phases, including figure studies, pen and ink drawings, whimsical illustrations, and bold silkscreen prints. As Pierre Debain shifted from painting to printmaking and later to digital design, he maintained his belief in art as a means of connection and care. Alongside his artwork, the exhibition includes archival material from the early years of L’Imagier, documenting his roles in graphic design, publication, and teaching.

This retrospective is the first of two exhibitions marking the 50th anniversary of L’Imagier. A second exhibition will open this autumn at the Centre d’exposition L’Imagier and will explore the gallery’s broader cultural impact as a meeting place and incubator for generations of regional artists.

Pierre Debain died in 1996. Yvette Bond continued their shared work for over a decade until her death in 2008. Their legacy lives on in the institutions they built and in the belief that art, rooted in community, can shape the identity of a region.

Pierre Debain : le parcours d’un artiste dévoué continues through August 17 at Espace Pierre-Debain, Centre culturel du Vieux-Aylmer, 120 rue Principale. Entry is free.