Born in Montreal in 1971, Sylvain Coulombe is an accomplished artist. Singer, composer, sculptor, architect (he graduated in Environment Design from UQÀM), he experienced art through numerous facets. Painting is now one to which he dedicates himself almost exclusively. His approach is a self-taught one and it is through his research and experimentations that he found his own plastic language. He loves paradoxes. As a matter of fact, his portraits can represent austere characters with complex expressions, geometrical compositions or round or long faces, like masks but illuminated by a rainbow of colour, often pastel. Eyes are greenish-blue, one blue, one black and gazes are divergent, one above, the other one to the right. His characters may surprise at first. From silent and cold, they rapidly convey an impression of wisdom and softness by the intensity of their gaze. ''I love what is old, what has lived. These characters carry with them signs of time's passing, on their body, on life, and the stories that come with it. They reveal the obstacles of life, the idea of perseverance. In life, one has to work hard to appreciate something. And sometimes, it is a heavy burden to carry.'' ''Each painting has a story, a meaning. The objective is not for the spectator to see it through my story but rather for him to create a personal dialogue with the artwork.''