Guido Molinari

Guido Molinari RCA, OC (1976-2004)

Guido Molinari was a Canadian artist renown internationally for his abstract paintings. Molinari was born in Montreal to Charles Molinari, an orchestra musician, and Evelyne Dini, the daughter of a sculptor. He began painting as early as 13 years old and received his initial training at the Art Association of Montreal. During his studies, Molinari contracted tuberculosis and while convalescing, he studied Sartre, Camus, Piaget, Nietzsche, and other such authors related to existentialism. Molinari never completed his studies, and instead pursued abstract painting on his own. After a visit to New York, Molinari returned to Montreal and held his first solo exhibition. Molinari’s exhibition was well received and he was soon an established figure in the arts community at home and internationally; in 1964, he was awarded the Guggenheim International Award, and his work began appearing in New York, Honolulu, Berlin, and Buenos Aires. Molinari won many other awards and accolades including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1968 and the prestigious David Bright Prize, as well as the Order of Canada in 1971. For 27 years, Molinari taught at Sir George Williams University and Concordia University, retiring in 1997. He died of pneumonia in 2004.