Jordi Bonet
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Jordi Bonet (7 May 1932-25 December 1979) was a Catalan-born Quebec painter, ceramic artist, muralist, and sculptor.
Born in Barcelona, Spain, he lost his right arm at the age of 9. His childhood would be marked by the Spanish Civil War. He studied art in Barcelona; he began working in paint and ceramic before expanding his focus to metal and concrete reliefs.
He emigrated to Canada in 1954, establishing himself in Quebec, where he continued his studies. After briefly returning to Spain, he established an atelier in Mont-Saint-Hilaire in 1960. Over the next 20 years, he created more than 100 murals in Quebec and abroad, and associated with major art figures such as Salvador Dalí.
His mural at the Grand Théâtre de Québec created a scandal in 1971 though its inscription "Vous êtes pas écœurés de mourir bande de caves? C'est assez !" ("Aren't you sick of dying, you gang of idiots? Enough!"), a quotation from the poet Claude Péloquin. Among his other major works are the mural Citius, Altius, Fortius at the Montreal Metro's Pie-IX station; Hommage à Gaudí, a cycle of mural sculptures at Place des Arts in Montreal; and a set of stained-glass windows and sculptures at Our Lady of the Sky Chapel at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. He was particularly interested in sacred works, creating artworks and liturgical objects for churches and convents in Quebec, Ontario, and elsewhere.
He was one of the most important artists in Quebec when he died prematurely of leukemia at the age of 47.
