DNA has an evolutionary past. It is the product of the process of natural selection and is manifested as human traits expressed by genes in our chromosome pairs. DNA has a revolutionary future as humans begin to unlock its mysteries to achieve what was previously unthinkable, even unimaginable. J. Deshaies paints an imaginary hybrid composed of a pair of human chromosomes and the DNA double helix to symbolize our need for a bridge between DNA's evolutionary past and its revolutionary future. The temporal space this bridge represents is our present - the time between our past and our future - in which we must create a humane and ethical response to our new genetic science. In order to help us to do this, J. Deshaies seeks to capture in art the essence of our "DNA present" using a complex blend of primitivism / modernism in the aesthetics and concepts that inform his works.

Love of DNA spirit

Revolutionary DNA and cell technologies will radically change human life in 21st century. They will give rise to a "DNA culture" that will have an impact on society at least as profound as that which information technologies are now having in changing our lives. J. Deshaies, a Montreal/Paris-based, 50 year old, contemporary Canadian artist, takes DNA as his primary inspiration to create paintings that are, not only, beautiful and deeply aesthetic, but also, seek to capture the clash of values and beliefs, the symbolic impact, and the physical, technological and commercial-industrial dimensions of our exploration of the genetics of life - our journey into "vast inner space". It is the role of the artist to help using our search for human meaning in facing these new realities and weaving them into our societal paradigm - the "shared story" on which we base our culture. We are all part of this culture and, therefore, this "DNA Art" is of importance to all of us, especially because, in his approach, J. Deshaies is particularly concerned to make us think about the ethics that should guide a "DNA culture" - the ethics that should inform its "shared story".

Art has a unique and important contribution to make to the creation of this story. It allows us to sense and feel essential elements that, otherwise, we cannot contact because they are beyond the reasoned and logical. We have known this for a long time. Historically, artists were a community's magician, shaman and story teller. J. Deshaies seeks, as we all must, to transcend everyday reality to reach the true reality of the essence of what our contemporary biotechnology and genetics means for us individually and as societies. It is not enough for him only to describe the contours of the world. He seeks to grasp the interior lines (drawing) that structures and bonds human reality. The "spirit" must precede the brush. In taking on this ambitious task of portraying the growth of a "DNA culture", J. Deshaies is, among his art contemporaries, a pioneer and a risk-taker.

J. Deshaies's thought and feeling provoking paintings are in the collections of "knowledge-base leaders" in Europe and North America. It is notable that many of these people, who have personally related to J. Deshaies's paintings, have achieved their position of respect in institutions and society using both their "human sensitivity and brain power" - that is through the intimate integration of compassion / intuition, imagination and intelligence. These people find J. Deshaies's art both aesthetically and intellectually inspirational.

J. Deshaies's stories are painted in polymer on large canvases (20-40 sq. feet). Acquiring such a work of pioneering "DNA Art" is especially appropriate for those people who are leaders in the biotechnologie industry. Those who are creating and telling the science element of the story on which our emerging "DNA culture" will be based, will also want to have access to that story's cultural element. Living with J. Deshaies's "DNA Art" in our homes and workplaces allows us to do this.