The inauguration of Bleu de bleu, a work created by Québec artist Alain Paiement, was held today at the MAC.
This public artwork can now be viewed along a major stretch of Autoroute 20, from the Dorval circle to the overpass at 1ère Avenue. Commissioned by National Bank to celebrate Montreal’s 375th anniversary, the piece transforms this stretch of highway between the airport and downtown with all the panache associated with Montréal.
Bleu de bleu was made possible thanks to the support of several key partners.
John Zeppetelli, Director of the MAC, was a member of the jury that selected this exciting project.
Throughout history, numerous artists have worked in and with landscape—notably Christo and Jeanne-Claude, or Robert Smithson with his piece Spiral Jetty. Bleu de bleu is now part of this select group due to its sheer size and grandiose use of space. It’s truly a bold, massive piece of art. The MAC will work to preserve its memory and the utopian experience it offers.
John Zeppetelli, Director and Chief Curator of the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal

Bleu de bleu is a linear work of art by Alain Paiement commissioned by National Bank to celebrate Montréal’s 375th anniversary.
Highlights
- The project was funded entirely through private donations totalling $3.2 million.
- The installation will remain in place for approximately five years.
- Bleu de bleu is intended to suggest the shores of the St. Lawrence River. The installation changes and grows more complex as it adjusts to the changing cityscape that surrounds it. Some sections are lit by blue LED lights.
- The installation was designed to offer distinctive evening and daytime experiences.
- It took twenty workers 1,000 hours over a four-month period to create, assemble and install the piece.
- Some 290,000 motorists and travellers use the stretch of Autoroute 20 displaying the installation every day, and 13 million people pass through the airport each year.