Prix François-Houdé: 2023 edition

Last updated December 5, 2023
Reading time: 3 min

The Prix François-Houdé recognizes excellence in the applied arts. Each year, the city awards this distinction jointly with the Conseil des métiers d’art du Québec (CMAQ).

This award highlights the remarkable work of creators who transform wood, leather, textiles, metals, glass, ceramic, paper and other materials. 

The Prix François-Houdé comes with a cash prize of $5,000 and is awarded to an early-career artist based in Montréal.

The city acquires artworks by the finalists for its municipal collection.

Winners

Sophie Gailliot and Richard Pontais (Atelier C.U.B.)

Sophie Gailliot et Richard Pontais - Crédit Atelier C.U.B.

Artists Sophie Gailliot and Richard Pontais (Atelier C.U.B.) explore the link between usefulness and aesthetics, playing with the use of materials in unconventional ways to create contemporary accessories and furniture. Their piece titled “Désordre ordonné” is a small cabinet designed from solid maple wood and buffalo leather.

Photo credit: Atelier C.U.B.

Finalists

The jury, made up of professional craftspeople, selected:

Ting-Fen Chin

Ting-Fen Chin

Ting-Fen Chin (in French) is a blacksmith. Using this ancient goldsmithing technique, she creates one-piece teapots in fine silver without soldering. Her progressive hammering production process requires great patience and organization. The artist creates a connection between her hands and the metal, while trusting in the spontaneity of the resulting piece. Her unique creations  combine art with functionality.

Photo credit: Jen Maclntyre

Dylan Duchet

Portrait de Dylan Duchet. Crédit photo Dylan Duchet

Artist Dylan Duchet (in French) is a glassblower who finds his creative inspiration through observing emerging elements in his environment, such as shapes, contours, vibrations, spaces and colors. He immortalizes natural and digital lines in his glass works that captivate the imagination.

Photo credit: Dylan Duchet

Eve-Marie Laliberté

Ève-Marie Laliberté

Eve-Marie Laliberté (in French), a trained graphic designer, is passionate about ceramics. Pairing a casual feeling with meticulous craftsmanship comes naturally to her! She welcomes imperfections in her work just as much as the precision required to make a mold. This creative approach results in one-of-a-kind pieces in which the imprint of the gesture in the material is perfectly imperfect.

Photo credit: Fernand Rainville

Vivi Lamarre

Portrait de Vivi Lamarre. Crédit Yang Shi

Wood sculptures by jewelry artist Vivi Lamarre are somewhere between contemporary jewelry and wall art. She combines new technologies with artisanal assembly techniques to sensitively create geometric metaphors that address themes of connection, belonging, heritage and transformation.

Photo credit: Yang Shi

Charlie Larouche-Potvin

Portrait de Charlie Larouche-Potvin. Crédit Sydni Weatherson

Glass blower Charlie Larouche-Potvin draws inspiration from Venetian traditions to make goblets and engage in a conversation with glass. His delicate and highly complex works are created by pairing traditional Venetian and modern techniques.
 
Photo credit: Sydni Weatherson

Jeanne Letourneau

Portrait de Jeanne Letourneau. Crédit : Joh Wax

The main subject of Jeanne Letourneau’s (in French) creations is the city and its environment. Through her work, the artist hopes to encourage people to question their perceptions of their surroundings. Her medium of choice is glass, which she has chosen for its transparency and ability to absorb and diffuse light, as a way of putting a filter on the world and, in so doing, seeing things differently.

Photo credit: Joh Wax

William Parent Senez

Portrait de William Parent Senez. Crédit Olivier Ross-Parent

William Parent Senez (in French), a member of the luthiers’ collective La Corde, is dedicated to building high-end electric guitars. His aim is to elevate the electric guitar to a higher level than that of a manufactured object. His approach and experiments incorporate several techniques, including wood carving, the use of metallic pigments and the gilding technique.

Photo credit: Olivier Ross-Parent

Mélina Schoenborn

Portrait de Mélina Schoenborn. Crédit : Chantal Lecours

Sculptor Mélina Schoenborn sculpts clay bowls and vases, slowly shaping them before refining the walls with a scraper. This technique, known as “slow ceramics,” is a tribute to peacefulness and concentration in a world overloaded with stimuli.

Photo credit: Chantal Lecours

Jérémie St-Onge

Portrait de Jérémie St-Onge

Through his art, glass blower Jérémie St-Onge (in French) questions the ambivalence of the vase as a functional or decorative object. By taking certain forms and concepts from ceramics and archaeological glass, he explores the role of the material blown glass plays in our spaces.

Photo credit: Flor Taillefer-Pérez

Harry Warshaw

Portrait de Harry Warshaw. Crédit Anthony McLean

Harry Warshaw was influenced by his mother, a talented jeweler. He chose jewelry making as his passion. He challenges conventions in jewelry design and manufacture, combining traditional and modern techniques. This creative process enables him to produce unique shapes and motifs that are conceptually rich and technically sophisticated.

Photo credit: Anthony McLean

Award winners’ works on display

Works by winners and finalists will be exhibited at La Guilde from November 23, 2023 to February 4, 2024. Works by David Frigon-Lavoie, who won the award in 2022, will also be presented.

To learn more about the Prix François-Houdé, visit the Conseil des métiers d’art du Québec Web site (in French).