Guido Molinari is one of Canada's leading modern artists. For the past forty years he has consistently worked in a non-figurative mode and is best known for pioneering the Quebec Plasticien school of painting.

Benito Claudio Dino Guy Molinari was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1933 and passed away in 2004 at the age of 71. Guido, a name he adopted in his teens, is the youngest of seven children born to Charles and Evelyn Molinari. His father, a noted musical director and founder of the Montreal Symphony encouraged his young son to pursue his interests and abilities in art throughout his childhood.

At the age of 16, he enrolled at L'Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Montreal and began to seriously develop his talents. It was during this time that he was strongly influenced by the work of Piet Mondrian and the great Quebec abstract painter, Paul-Emile Borduas. He went on to study at the School of Art and Design at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and since 1951 has worked independently as an artist. In 1955, along with fellow artist, Claude Tousignant, he founded Gallerie L'Actuelle, which supported non- figurative art and became a major focal point for Les Plasticiens in Montreal.

Since that time, Guido Molinari has continued to paint and exhibit annually. A major figure in the Montreal art scene, his work can be found in collections throughout North America including the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1968 he represented Canada at the 37th Venice Blenniale and was awarded the David Bright Prize for his work, In 1980 he received the Prix Paul-Emile Borduas for his contribution to art in Quebec.