1969-72 Loyola of Montreal, Communication Arts
1972-79 Worked as a photographer and photojournalist
1979-82 University of Ottawa, B.A., Visual Arts
1980-84 In partnership with Miguel Berlanga, worked and exhibited as A & B associés
1984-86 Hunter College, New York, M.F.A.
1990- Teaches at the School of Visual Arts, New York
Lives and works in Brooklyn, New York
Solo Shows
2012 Steel Bars no.32, Black Box: Exchanges, curated by Isaac Aden, White Box Gallery, New York
2011 Steel Bars, Ricco Maresca Gallery, New York
2008 Modifiers, Drabinsky Gallery, Toronto
2006 René Pierre Allain: Drawings, Olin Hall Breezeway Gallery, Whitman College, WA
2005 New Work, Drabinsky Gallery, Toronto
2004 Tablets, Roger Ramsay Gallery, Chicago
2003 Constructing Painting, Paul Kuhn Gallery, Calgary
Tablets, Drabinsky Gallery, Toronto
2001 New Work, Winchester Galleries, Victoria, BC
2000 Disjunctures, Galerie de Bellefeuille, Montreal
1999 New Steel Paintings, Stefan Stux Gallery, New York
1998 René Pierre Allain, Galerie de Bellefeuille, Montreal
New Paintings, Stefan Stux Gallery, New York
1997 René Pierre Allain, Lonsdale Gallery, Toronto
Recent Work, Roger Ramsay Gallery, Chicago
1996-97 The Steel Paintings: 1991-1996, University of Waterloo Art Gallery; Art Gallery of Peel, Brampton, Ontario;
Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound, Ontario
1996 Steelwork, Littlejohn Contemporary, New York
Paul Kuhn Gallery, Calgary, (Project Room)
1994 Drawings, Genereux Grunwald Gallery, Toronto
René Pierre Allain, Genereux Grunwald Gallery, Toronto
1993 New Work, Roger Ramsay Gallery, Chicago
René Pierre Allain, Genereux Grunwald Gallery, Toronto
1992 René Pierre Allain, Julian Pretto Gallery, New York
Samuel Lallouz Gallery, Montreal, (Project Room)
1991 New Work, Julian Pretto Gallery, New York
1990 Paintings, Roger Ramsay Gallery, Chicago
New Work, Julian Pretto Gallery, New York
1989 Paintings, Roger Ramsay Gallery, Chicago
New Paintings, Julian Pretto Gallery, New York
René Pierre Allain, The Knitting Factory, New York
1986 René Pierre Allain, Hunter Gallery, New York
1984 The Core Island Complex, London Regional Art and Historical Museum, Canada (A&B)
1983 Transformer Site, Gallery 101, Ottawa (A&B)
1981 Dépot Central, Saw Gallery Ottawa (A&B)
Selected Group Shows
2018 The Greates Show, Sideshow Nation VI Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn
Beyond Black and White, Westbeth Gallery, New York
2017 Thru The Rabbit Hole, Nation V Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn
2016 Thru The Rabbit Hole, Nation IV, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn
2015 Nation III, Circle the Wagons, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn
2014 Welcome to the Dreantime, Stephen Romano Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Sideshow Nation II: At the Alamo, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn
2013 Julian Pretto Gallery, Minus Space, Brooklyn
Unhinged, Pierogi Gallery, Brooklyn
Sideshow Nation, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn
Paperazzi 2, Janet Kurnatowsky Gallery, Brooklyn
2012 Semi Automatic, Lesley Heller Workspace, New York
Mic: Check (Occupy), Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn
Paperazzi, Janet Kurnatowsky Gallery, Brooklyn
2011 Metal + Paint, Renann Isaacs Contemporary Art, Guelph
Ghost Dance: René Pierre Allain& Larry Webb, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn
Paper 2011, Janet Kurnatowsky Gallery
It's All Good!! apocalypse now, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn
2010 Paper Works, Janet Kurnatowsky Gallery
It's a Wonderful 10th, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn
2008 Border Crossings, Kyoto City International Foundation, Kyoto
Cohju Contemporary Art Gallery, Kyoto
Peace, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn
2007 War Is Over "Again", Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn
2006 Selections from the LeWitt Collection, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
Black and White, Paul Kuhn Gallery, Calgary
2005 Acadia Surfacing, Ross Creek Center for the Arts, Nova Scotia
Labyrinth, Holland Tunnel, Paros, Greece
Paint on Metal, curated by Julie Sasse, Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona
2004 Armored, Planet Thailand, Brooklyn, NY
2003 Clear Intentions, curated by Robert Morgan, The Rotunda Gallery, Brooklyn
Selections from the LeWitt Collection, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT
Manières et Matières, Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke
2002 Holiday Paper, Drabinsky Gallery, Toronto
Samadhi, curated by Robert Morgan, Chelsea Art Museum, New York
The New Gallery, Houston
2001 Made in Canada, Plattsburgh State Art Museum
QCNY 2001, Howard Scott Gallery, New York
Roger Ramsay Gallery, Chicago
Present/Present, Drabinsky Gallery, Toronto
2000 Re:Place, Planet Thailand, Brooklyn
Singular Fissions, Diefenbunker Museum, Carp Ontario, (A&B associés)
Passion et tourment, Musée des beaux arts de Sherbrooke
1999 Abstract, Roger Ramsay Gallery, Chicago
Sculpture, Galerie de Bellefueille, Montreal
1997 New York/North York, Art Gallery of North York, Toronto
Curtain I, curated by James Oliver, Brooklyn Brewery
Recurrence, curated by Theresa Chong, Gallery Korea, New York
Current Undercurrent: Working in Brooklyn, Pierogi Flat Files, Brooklyn Museum of Art
Fresh/fresco, The Gallery at Hastings-on Hudson, NY
1996 Dots & Lines, curated by Theresa Chong, 8th Floor Gallery, New York
Image/After-Image, curated by Paul Campbell, The Work Space, New York
Incestuous, Carter Kustera installation, Thread Waxing Space, New York
The Julian Pretto Collection, Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT
1995 Julian’s Show, Littlejohn Contemporary, New York
Down The Garden Path, The Work Space, New York
1994 Surface Matters, M-13 Gallery, New York
Cracks in the Modern - The Anxiety of Industrial Folklore, curated by Ihor Holubizky, Koffler Centre for the
Arts, North York, Ontario
Five Abstract Artists, Littlejohn/Sternau Gallery, New York
1993 Continuing Generations, Annina Nosei Gallery, New York
Abstraction: Which Way From Here?, curated by Jeffrey Spalding, University of Lethbridge/ Canada Trust
Towers, Calgary
Présence, Centre international d'art contemporain, Montreal
Projects, Julian Pretto Gallery, New York
Littlejohn/Sternau Gallery, New York
1992 Geometric Strategies, Marilyn Pearl Gallery, New York
Genereux Grunwald Gallery, Toronto
Painterly Object, S. Bitter-Larkin Gallery, New York
Slow Art: Painting in New York Now, P.S. 1 Museum, New York
1991-92 Open Mind: The LeWitt Collection, Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford
1991 Constructed Black Paintings, Julian Pretto Gallery, New York
Allain, Beall, Dean, Gallery Moos, Toronto
Abstract Painting: Process and Materials, Ben Shahn Gallery, William Patterson College, NJ
Invitational, Berland\Hall, New York
1990 Selected 1990 Artist Fellowship in Painting Recipients from the New York Foundation for the Arts, University
Art Gallery, SUNY Albany
Objective Abstraction, Julian Pretto Gallery, New York
1989 Aspects of Painting, Julian Pretto Gallery, New York
Materiel Engagements, Milford Gallery, New York
A Selection of Works in Three Dimensions, Julian Pretto Gallery, New York
War, Peace and Victory, Memorial Arch, Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, New York
New Works/New Artists, Julian Pretto Gallery, New York
The Building Show, Minor Injury, Brooklyn, New York
1986-87 Postmarked New York, The Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta
1986 The Building of Architectural Vision, City Gallery of New York; Princeton University School of Architecture
1984-86 Présent antérieur, four artist exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art, Montreal (A&B)
1984 Les Temps, Saw Gallery, Ottawa; Glendon Gallery of York University, Toronto; Whitewater Gallery, North Bay;
Laurentian University Art Centre, Sudbury; National Exhibition Centre,Thunder Bay (A&B)
1982 Transformer Site, public sculpture for the city of Ottawa (A&B)
1980 Landart, Saw Gallery, Ottawa (A&B)
Awards
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship
Canada Council Grants
Selected Bibliography
Rachel Morgan, Burning Metal, interview, New York Observer Magazine, May 2011
Robert C. Morgan, A Summation of Rene Pierre Allain's Recent Steel Bar Paintings, Whitehot Magazine, April, 2011
Gary Michael Dault, Gallery Going: Visual Arts: Review, René Pierre Allain at Drabinsky Gallery, The Globe and Mail, Toronto, April 12, 2008
Roald Nasgaard, Abstract Painting in Canada, Douglas & McIntyre, 2007
Julie Sasse, Paint on Metal, Tucson Museum of Art, 2005
Gary Michael Dault, review, René Pierre Allain at Drabinsky Gallery, The Globe and Mail, Toronto, March 26, 2005
Tablets, exhibition brochure, Roger Ramsay Gallery, Chicago. Text Signals in the Field of Consciousness by John Zinsser, 2004
Manières et matières. La collection du Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke, exhibition catalogue, 2003
Peter Goddard, review, Homage to the Shield, Toronto Star, February 15, 2003
Gary Michael Dault, review, René Pierre Allain at Drabinsky Gallery, The Globe and Mail, Toronto, March 1, 2003
La Couleur importée / Ready-Made Color, Artists’ texts, Paris, éditions Positions & Amiens, Maison de la Culture, 2000
René Pierre Allain: Disjonctures/Disjuncture, exhibition catalogue, essay by Robert Morgan, introduction by James D. Campbell, Galerie de Bellefeuille, Montreal, 2000
Tom McDonough, review, Art in America, April, 2000, pp. 160-161
David Ebony, David Ebony’s Top Ten, artnet.com, Nov. 1999
Jean-Jacques Bernier, Aux limites de l'abstraction, Vie des Arts, Spring, 1998, pp. 64-66
Ihor Holubizky, shape shifters, exhibition catalogue, Art Gallery of Hamilton, 1997
Laurel Berger, In Their Sights, ARTnews, March, 1997, p. 94
James D. Campbell, René Pierre Allain: The Steel Paintings 1991-1996, exhibition catalogue, University of Waterloo Art Gallery, 1996
Alfred Corn, review, Art in America, Sept. 1996, pp. 109-110
Image/After Image, exhibition catalogue, curated by Paul Campbell, The Workspace, New York, 1996
David Ebony, The New York City Top Ten, artnet.com, Feb. 1996
John Bentley Mays, The Road to Contemplative Fare, The Globe and Mail, Toronto, 11/19/94
Deborah Wilk, review, The New Art Examiner, April 1994, p. 41
James D.Campbell, René Pierre Allain - Abstraction and the Play of Metaphor, catalogue, Genereux Grunwald Gallery, Toronto, 1994
Garrett Holg, review, ARTnews, pp. 146-147, February, 1994
James D. Campbell, review Présence [René Pierre Allain, Neil Campbell, John Francis and John Heward ], C Magazine # 40, 1994
David Clarkson, Présence, exhibition catalogue, Centre international d'art contemporain de Montréal, 1993
John Bentley Mays, Strong Heavy Works Slow the Viewer Down, The Globe and Mail, Toronto, 5/20/93
Ihor Holubizky, The Necessity of Impassioned Arguments, ETC Montreal, Feb 1992, pp. 50-52
Ann Duncan, review, Montreal Gazette, 2/22/1992
Dena Shottenkirk, review, Artforum, October 1991, pp. 129-130
Gary Telfer, review, C Magazine, Fall 1991, pp. 68-69
Kate Taylor, review, The Globe and Mail, Toronto,8/2/1991
Alan Artner, review, Chicago Tribune, Chicago, 11/30/1990
Thomas Lail, SUNY A exhibit, The Times Union, Albany, 10/11/1990
Eleanor Heartney, review, Art in America, September 1990, p. 201
Roberta Smith, Weekend Art Review, New York Times, 5/19/1989
War, Peace and Victory, exhibition brochure, Grand Army Plaza Memorial Arch, Brooklyn, N.Y., 1989
Postmarked New York, exhibition catalogue, Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta, 1987
Sarah Bodine, State Museum, New York Times, Sunday, 12/28/1986
New Jersey Arts Annual, exhibition catalogue, New Jersey State Museum, 1986
Alain Dexter, Transformer Site, Le Droit, 1/11/1986
Ann McDougal, A&B associés, Vie des Arts, Summer, 1985
Henry Sum, Hypothetical Zigurats and Cuneiform Highlights Glendon Show, Excalibur, Toronto, 11/8/84
Jean Tourangeau, Présent antérieur, Vanguard, Summer 1984 pp. 31-32
Goldie Rans, Core Island, C Magazine, Summer 1984, pp. 48-49
Les Temps, exhibition catalogue, Saw Gallery, Ottawa, 1984
Angela Marcus, A&B associes, public sculpture, Vanguard, April, 1984
Lawrence Sabbath, The multiple ways artists record time and memory, The Gazette, Montreal, 4/7/1984
Jocelyne Lepage, A la recherche du temps perdu, La Presse, Montreal, 4/31/1984
James Reany, Artists ask what traces we'll leave behind, London Free Press, 4/17/1984
Présent antérieur, exhibition catalogue, Musée d'art contemporain, Montreal, 1984
The Core Island Complex, artist produced exhibition catalogue, The London Regional Art Gallery, 1984
Olivier Asselin, A&B associés: une archéologie de la perception, Le Droit, Ottawa, 6/3/1983
A&B associés, Preliminary Findings, Arts Canada, Nov. 1982 pp. 49-52, artists' text
Collections
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
Art Gallery of Hamilton
Brooklyn Museum of Art
Canada Council for the Arts
Glenbow Museum
London Regional Art and Historical Museum
Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal
Musée d’art de Joliette
Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal
Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke
Musée du Bas-Saint-Laurent, Rivière-du-Loup
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
Plattsburgh State Art Museum
Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound
Université de Sherbrooke
University of Waterloo Art Gallery
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT
AT&T
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG)
Champion Paper, Stamford, CT
Christian Keesee Collection, Oklahoma City
Dan Donovan Collection at St. Michael's College
External Affairs, Ottawa
Gowling Strathy & Henderson
Louis-Dreyfus Family Collection
London Life
MacMillan Binch
McCarthy Tétrault
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt
Prudential Insurance Company of America
Progressive Corporation, Cleveland
Richard Brown Baker Collection
Royal Bank
Sol LeWitt Collection
Sun Life
Torys LLP
Trimark Management
Winston & Strawn, Chicago
Corporate and private collections
