Gaston Petit – The Kimono and the Cross: Interview with an Artist in Japan

When most of us consider life in the priesthood, a cloistered, removed existence comes to mind. But Gaston Petit belies the stereotype. A widely travelled Dominican priest, Petit has earned an international reputation for his art, achieving renown in painting, stained glass, church design, silkscreen and wood block prints, sculpture and mural installation, with works in major museums and collections throughout the world. While he has been stationed in Japan since 1966, Petit retains strong Canadian roots, spending half the year on the north shore of his beloved St. Lawrence and half the year in Tokyo. Petit seamlessly combines East and West, exploring the artistic and spiritual traditions in both.

This is a fascinating portrait of an artist, a traveller, a seeker. Interviewer Linda Ghan takes Petit from his rural beginnings in Shawinigan to his peripatetic existence today, and we come to know a man whose grand curiosity brings joy and beauty into the world. Colour reproductions highlight some of Petit’s rich and varied oeuvre.