Visual arts · February 2, 2023
Artistes de rue montréalais : hommage aux pionniers
« L'Original pays tribute to the pioneers of Montréal urban art with a double exhibition spanning thirty years of landmark works. »
Éric Clément
The story of L'Original — art gallery-atelier in Montréal
Born from a second life, carried by artists.
L'Original started by rescuing discarded furniture on July 1st. Today it's two galleries and a platform that fund the visibility of artists.
01The origin
A second life
A simple idea: give a second life to the furniture and clothes left behind on July 1st, Montreal's big moving day.
City artists took hold of them to give them a new aesthetic, and a new life.
02The galleries
Two addresses, 100% local
The organization grew into two art galleries devoted to the artists behind the city's great murals.
~15 exhibitions per year30+ artists represented
03PickArt
The Tinder of art
Every day, 3 to 5 artists come to sell their creations. So their dreams don't go unanswered, L'Original incubates PickArt: a fast match between artists and collectors.
AI optimizes the media and the visibility of artists.
Le DevoirVisual artsFeatured
Prendre rendez-vous avec un artiste d'ici
Launched by a Montreal gallery, the PickArt platform puts local artists and potential buyers in direct contact.
Galerie L'Original developed the concept behind the PickArt app, which lets you commission custom works from the gallery's artists.
Read the articlePhoto: Valérian Mazataud, Le Devoir
Éric ClémentFeb. 2, 2023Hommage aux pionniers
« Belle idée, donc, que ce regroupement de signatures de l'art urbain montréalais. Il faudrait peut-être qu'un musée songe à une véritable rétrospective ? Avec des moyens, ça ferait un show extrêmement beau. Le milieu institutionnel a toujours du retard pour reconnaître ce qui se passe au présent. »Read the article
Directory, 4.9 ★Galerie d'Art L'Original
“No intimidating white-cube atmosphere, no art-speak explanations that require a decoder ring. It's street art that's grown up without selling out.”Read the article
The number onegallery in Montreal
Apr. 29, 2024Les plus belles galeries d'art de Montréal
« Elle célèbre l'art de la subversion. Vous découvrirez l'une des galeries d'art urbain les plus impressionnantes du Canada. »Read the article
Travellers' choiceTripadvisor5.0 · 101 reviews
3rd thing to do in Montreal, out of 801
« Seulement des artistes locaux avec de belles histoires derrière les œuvres, 100 % street art montréalais avec un personnel passionné. »Kittensworth C · Nov. 2024Read the reviews
Google MapsPlateau Mont-Royal
Galerie L'Original — Plateau
4455 Saint-Denis Street, Mont-Royal metro. Open 7 days, 11 AM to 6 PM. Step in from Google Maps: the 360 tour walks you through the room and the studios before you even come by.
Take the 360 tour
Google MapsOld Montreal
Galerie L'Original — Old Port
163 Saint-Paul Street West, in the heart of Old Montreal. Open 7 days, 11 AM to 6 PM. The Google Maps 360 tour takes you inside, between the stone walls and the canvases.
Take the 360 tour2017 | From the street to the gallery:
The adventure begins with love at first sight. A student just arrived from his French village lands in Montreal and falls in love with the immense murals that adorn the city. His mission then becomes obvious: to help these artists escape precariousness and make a living from their talent. Both a student and a gallery owner, the beginnings are tough. To make ends meet and pay the gallery's rent, he even ends up sleeping there. But passion eventually triumphs.
A Montreal dream :
Both a student and a gallery owner, the beginnings are tough. To make ends meet and pay the gallery's rent, he even ends up sleeping there. But passion eventually triumphs.
The rise and the tipping point
After moving to Old Montreal, the gallery experienced meteoric success. Today, Dorian is the founder of two of the highest-rated art galleries in North America.
PickArt
Artworks are flying off the shelves and artists are flocking to be represented every day, but physical space is running out. There are no more walls available. This is how PickArt was born: a digital bridge to showcase these talents online and connect them directly with their clients. Our proposal is unique (disruptive): no other platform offers the opportunity to meet the artists behind the works to design 100% custom-made paintings and murals.
The PickArt Philosophy: Rethinking our consumption
<< Like Sisyphus pushing his boulder, modern man pushes his basket. Behind the unnecessary purchase lies a genuine quest for meaning. >>
An approach to oneself and to others, rooted in reality
But how can modern man, who often knows neither how to sculpt, nor paint, nor draw, still create? Can he truly move us with a gift born from his own ideas and immortalized by the hand of an artist?
In the press
The pens behind our brushes: our story told by the best.
Seen in
Grounded in research
The academic research behind PickArt
The model grew out of a master's thesis by our founder, Dorian Verdier (M.Sc., HEC Montréal, 2024), on the democratization of art among citizens in the digital age, carried out in the lab with UdeM and Tech3Lab.
Master's thesis
PDF · HEC Montréal, 2024
French version only
Society · April 2023
L'Original : de l'art engagé et écolo
« Montréal is home to the highest concentration of artists in Canada. L'Original helps these urban talents shine locally and internationally. »
Alexandra Grenier
Culture · 2022
A Montreal art gallery is opening where you can wear the art
They built technology to support artists. A company was born, backed by a network of angel investors.
2020 | Sisyphus lets go of his rock
Since 2020, the answer has been yes. We introduced Sisyphus to a computer. Since then, he's put down the rock and the basket to pursue his dreams and his own stories. Young Dorian used technology to build an ingenious classification system (via tags and vectors powered by passionate volunteers).
Our invention now allows us to:
Compare hundreds of artists in just 2 minutes and explore a rainbow of connections in 1001 colors and styles.
Our creators of meaning
Today, the PickArt tool is used by those who want to bring their walls to life:
- Designers: To propose custom collections perfectly adapted to their clients’ spaces.
- Families: Children celebrating and immortalizing their parents’ stories for unforgettable anniversaries.
- Organizations: Groups commissioning collaborative murals to mobilize and inspire their teams.
« To consume meaning is to burn the fire. To connect with artists is to make it grow. »
A Timeline of L’Original’s History
Explore the Timeline of L’Original to relive every significant milestone of our journey.
2018-2019
2019
2020
The First Steps of L’Original
2018
A Citizen Project Taking Shape
Birth of a Creative Community
L’Original began in 2018 with a small team of 15 artists and 5 dedicated volunteers.
Creation of visual art and upcycling workshops held weekly, allowing the public to learn and express themselves artistically through environmentally friendly techniques.
2018
A space for poetic dialogue and expression
Launch of a weekly poetry club to allow participants to express themselves around artworks, blending artistic creation and personal reflection.
These sessions foster lively and inclusive exchanges about art and strengthen community bonds.
2018–2019
Support and Guidance
Under the leadership of Dorian Verdier, an 18-year-old student in economics and marketing at HEC Montréal, L’Original structured itself from the very beginning with a strong social foundation. With the support of Jason Prince from PME Montréal and the mentorship of Robert Dutton, director of the entrepreneurial hub at HEC Montréal, L’Original gained essential guidance for its growth.
2018-2019The First Steps of L’Original
2019From Initiative to Official Status
2020L'Original: Two Missions
The First Steps of L’Original
A Citizen Project Taking Shape
A space for poetic dialogue and expression
Support and Guidance
2018
A Citizen Project Taking Shape
Birth of a Creative Community
L’Original began in 2018 with a small team of 15 artists and 5 dedicated volunteers.
Creation of visual art and upcycling workshops held weekly, allowing the public to learn and express themselves artistically through environmentally friendly techniques.
They talk about us
Further reading
Educational articles drawn from the master's thesis of our founder, Dorian Verdier (M.Sc., HEC Montréal, 2024), on the theories that shape how we think about art.
How it works, mechanism by mechanismHow you find a piece, how you commission one, and how an artist works with us.Our social impact and ESG commitments
- The democratization of art: making art accessible to everyone
- The aura of the original: Walter Benjamin in the age of digital and AI
- Taste as a social marker: Bourdieu and cultural capital
- Why do we love art? The psychology behind our preferences
- The culture industry: when art becomes a commodity
- Co-creating art: the IKEA effect and citizen engagement
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