Yvon Cozic (1942–2025): A Great Loss for Québec Art

Just as the celebrations for two national holidays have drawn to a close, Québec’s visual arts community has been left grieving the departure of Yvon Cozic. He is survived by Monic Brassard, with whom he formed one of the most vibrant, intriguing, and quirky artist duos Québec has ever known. The 2019 retrospective we devoted to them recognized their role as a driving force in the transformation of Québec art and the extent to which they shifted the artistic landscape. As recently as March 2025, Yvon and Monic joined us for the screening of the documentary Cozic, which was competing in the Festival international des films sur l’art.

Bringing contemporary art closer to the public

In the headline for a La Presse article on the 2019 retrospective, journalist Éric Clément declared that the Cozics were creating “poetry in an art costume.” He then went on to explain that the pair had “brilliantly” navigated the decades since their beginnings in the 1960s. As we mourn Yvon’s passing, we recall that he and Monic Brassard met in 1960 at the École des beaux-arts de Montréal. They went on to make their mark on the contemporary art of that decade and beyond, especially by gleefully demolishing potential divides between art and the public. In a word, the Cozics bridged that gap by making their art participatory.

Playful, democratic, pop

The Cozics’ art has always been at the service of others. For instance, in the 1960s, they co-created projects with blind people. This allowed them to explore the primacy of the eye in art through their work, which also playfully involved the other senses, like touch.

The artists were truly a breath of fresh air. Confession: Back when I was an art critic, I recall not knowing what to do with dozens of cardboard boxes hung on a wall, becoming a multitude of faces that gazed back at the viewer. That was in 2002; the installation, Face à face, ended up in the museum 17 years later. I found myself feeling that same uncertainty, experiencing that same challenge, all over again. This is, perhaps, truly the sign of a strong, vital body of work that stands the test of time; after all, the Cozics have left their mark on each passing decade with their often mischievous and always conceptually powerful pieces.

The Cozic website also notes that Yvon was a founding member of the Académie québécoise de ’Pataphysique (an academy devoted to ’pataphysics, the science of imaginary solutions created by Alfred Jarry), to which he brought curiosity, freedom of tone, and an ever-active imagination.

Another great artist has left us. We’ll always remember Yvon’s affable nature, as well as his generosity and commitment as an outstanding teacher. The Cozics’ proven contribution to Québec art will never be forgotten. Our sincerest condolences go out to Monic.