Richard Boulet (born in Peace River, Alberta; Edmonton resident)
Retrospective: Residuals for a One in Five
Art Gallery of Grande Prairie, 2016
Assistant curator Kenzie Housego

My interest is in Boulet’s interface with ‘the architectonic’ as well as craft, together with text (the applique of various words/poetry). This interest in Boulet’s colourful, playful work mask serious undertones; one way of looking at his work is through semiotic literary and Julia Kristeva’s ‘abject’ in domestic needlework versus the scale of his large public tapestries.

Boulet’s intellectual interests span Kenneth Patchengs (1911-1972) anti war poem-drawings, to an interest in Matsuo Basho (1644 – 1694) and Saint Teresa of Aviva (1515 – 1582).

Boulet was politicized at aged 21, from a two month backpacking visit to Sierra Leone in 1983.

Boulet has been positioned as an outside artist due to his self-disclosed (late onset) serious mental health condition, a stigma which has plagued him but his well-being has been normalized for many years as well as relationship with his viewers.

– Dr. Lycia Trouton