About David Montpetit
David, the fifth of eight children was born in Edmonton, Alberta in 1951. He initiated his creative journey apprenticing there as a silversmith in his late teens, eventually taking his designs to Gastown, Vancouver in the early 70s. After a long hiatus, devoted to his growing family of four daughters back in Alberta & B.C., he turned to metal sculpture as an art form while residing in Garden Bay on the Sunshine Coast of B.C. He began incorporating glass to lighten the composition. In 1992, David’s art evolved almost exclusively into the glass medium when he began making slumped and fused masks from recycled glass.
A radical transformation took place when David started collaborative work with First Nations artists. This has led to further explorations in developing his designs. The sharing of visions resulted in a blending of innovative ‘Old World’ technology with timeless aboriginal images. The Native art interpretations have gathered a wide following in private collections throughout North America, Europe, and the Far East.
David’s subsequent exposure to glass as a medium came at Studio One Glass of Vancouver and Bay Studio of Tsawwassen, B.C. where he worked on commercial and residential installations. Various techniques acquired there were refined during the period from 1994 to 1998 in which David co-founded the Experimental Glass Group – ‘EGG’. David went on to open Montpetit Studios in Vancouver from 1998 to 2003, adding and developing techniques and equipment that facilitate his ever growing repertoire. From 2003 -2006 Montpetit Studios was operating in Procter, B.C. in the Kootenays . A short period in Steveston from 2006 – mid 2008 was followed by the establishment of the current studio facilities in the old Hiram Walker complex in Lake Country ( technically Kelowna).
The artist states,
“I find glass to be among the most challenging of materials. Demanding and technically limiting, this material once mastered yields results that are intriguing and inspiring – almost magical. I think it is the interplay of light and object which is most fascinating. Glass has the unique capacity to borrow from and in cases even amplify the ambient light.
It is more common in craft based artforms to attempt to master existing and known techniques I feel that the key to my work is innovation even more so than refinement. Yes – I would rather reinvent the wheel – it allows for more personal results.”
The merit of David Montpetit’s distinctive concepts have already attained worldwide recognition. David continues to break new ground with these new explorations, creating a widening range of interpretations of his own invention.
