Image: MA Art Museum, Rouyn-Noranda
The MA Art Museum in Rouyn-Noranda will present 'Quand la pierre prend vie', an exhibition devoted to the sculptural work of Yvon Lemens, from June 26 to September 7, 2026. The museum says the show offers a look into Lemens’ practice with stone, highlighting the inner qualities of mineral material and the artist’s detailed sculpting techniques.
According to the exhibition text, Lemens was born in Maniwaki and came to Abitibi at a very young age. He began carving stone at 15, using tools he designed himself, and his early work was shaped by experiences in the mining world, which deepened his relationship to stone. The exhibition traces a practice that stretches from the 1980s to the present, showing how that long engagement with mineral material has evolved over time.
The museum describes Lemens’ process as painstaking and highly manual. His first sculpted stones were worked with punch and hammer before being sanded by hand, leaving visible marks at the surface. He now uses mechanical saws, grinders and routers, which allow him to shape the stone without breaking the grain. Some works can take up to 500 hours to complete, reflecting a slow method of refining texture, color and the orientation of the stone’s grain.
A central theme of the exhibition is the artist’s ability to see what a stone can become before he begins to carve it. The museum notes that he often works in dialogue with the material itself, sometimes leaving stone raw to reveal its natural beauty and sometimes intensifying textures and colors to bring out its visual identity. Many of the stones come from quarries and mining deposits, though some are given to him by friends and relatives.
Over time, Lemens’ imagery has shifted from human figures to animals, both real and mythical. The exhibition presentation emphasizes that this animal world connects with the artist’s sensibility and gives his sculptures a sense of familiarity. Works such as 'Mammouth laineux' use the surface of the stone to evoke motion and life, placing the sculptures between the tangible and the dreamlike.
The exhibition is presented as a new stage in Lemens’ career, as the artist is now retired and, according to the museum, sees this period as an opportunity to let his creativity move in new directions. The opening is scheduled for Friday, June 26, at 5 p.m., and the exhibition runs at Musée d’art de Rouyn-Noranda until September 7, 2026. Admission is free, with a suggested voluntary contribution.
