Bernard Séguin’s wondrous enamel chape

The home and workshop of Les Cèdres’ artist Bernard Séguin Poirier, “the master of colours on metal” took top honours in Les 7 Merveilles de Vaudreuil-Soulanges contest in the Regional Ambassador for Profit category.

Voters felt that the Bernard Séguin Poirier Enamel Chapel best represents the region as an overall ambassador.

Those who have yet to discover the stunningly visual enamel chapel created by artist Bernard Séguin Poirier are in for a treat.

The large room that was dedicated in 2002 after six years of work serves as a unique gathering point for both professional meals and private parties.

The chapel is built onto Séguin Poirier’s home, a heritage building dating to 1793. One almost thinks of a modern day Leonardo da Vinci painting the Sistine Chapel when seeing the attention to detail the artist displayed throughout the room.

The chapel’s walls are covered with more than 168 colourful scenes, and the room literally seems to pulse with life and colour.

The chapel boasts 4,000 pounds of silicate (powdered glass) and 163 sheets of copper cut into 1,300 pieces.

To achieve his final results, Séguin Poirier completed more than 5,200 metal bakings at temperatures ranging between 2,300 to 3,000 degrees.

The 1,560 square foot room has six stained glass windows, four doors and 192 window panes.

It took Séguin Poirier more than 10,000 hours done over 72 months to complete his masterpiece.

Séguin, a contemporary visual artist, has been creating the “art of fire” through metal enamelling since the 1960s.

The Les Cèdres based painter produces his large, vivid, works in an array of vibrant colours by painting directly onto copper and other metals.

His works are then infused with high gloss brilliance when they are preserved through vitrification of silica, a process in which the paints are melted onto metal when fired in the immense ovens that Séguin has in his studios.

Séguin Poirier constantly challenges himself by creating larger and larger works, many of which are displayed throughout the world in high profile buildings and commercial locations.

Séguin Poirier was born in the Plateau Montreal area in 1949. Both of his parents were artistic – his father as a goldsmith and jeweller and his mother an artists-painter and sculpture, who also designed many of the works created by her husband.

Séguin Poirier studied enamelling for two years in Limoges, France, the birthplace of the art form.

The artists lives and works in Les Cèdres with his wife Suzanne, and two of his five children.

The Bernard Séguin Poirier Enamel Chapel is located at 1037, chemin du Fleuve, Les Cèdres. For more information or to inquire about visiting call, 514 989-1529, or log onto: www.seguinpoirier.com