Designer, editor and curator, Jean-Michel Gadoua has earned a reputation as an aesthetic and stylistic leader in the world of contemporary design. Always a visionary, the designer by trade began his career in graphic design and music. A fixture of the Montreal experimental music scene in the 2000s, he was artistic director of record label Le Son 666.
Gadoua then started working for furniture galleries as a design consultant before taking on the roles of Creative Director, Buyer and Showroom Manager. In 2019, Gadoua started designing furniture and founded Éditions 8888, a creative cell for experimentation, where he publishes some of his own designs and those of several other Quebec designers and artists.
Inspired by brutalism, postmodernism, science-fiction and music, his designs are minimalist, often monolithic and dark. His philosophy is best summed up by 8888's slogan: We reject contemporary priorities and unquestionably adopt the posture of discomfort. We are Brutaluxe. We celebrate and elevate raw materials and spontaneous gestures. We are the antidote to industrial and impersonal manufacturing.
Link to 8888
2025 Collectible NY, Water Street Projects,
New York. September 3 to 7. (Exhibitor)
2025 Jeux d’été, Parquette,
Montreal. July 3 - 07. (Exhibitor)
2025 An Appreciation For Beauty, Galerie Keï Akai,
Montreal. June 13 - 30. (Exhibitor)
2025 This is Not A Strut, NYC Design Week, Blu Dot Gallery,
New York. May 16 - 26. (Exhibitor)
2025 Complètement Design, Grand Quai du Port de Montreal,
Montreal. April 4. (Exhibitor)
2024 Dudd Haus Launch, Dudd Haus,
Philadelphia. December 6. (Exhibitor)
2024 Jardins Racine Launch, Jardins Racine,
Racine. October 5. (Exhibitor)
2024 Secular, Temple Projects,
Bolton-Est. June 23 – 30. (Exhibitor)
2024 Wanted Design, Javits Center,
New York. May 19 – 21. (Curator & Exhibitor)
2023 Master of Brutality, New Studio,
Brooklyn. March 24 – 26. (Curator & Exhibitor)
2022 Ghost Limbs, Le Centerpiece,
Montreal. November 4 – 13. (Curator & Exhibitor)
2021 Paris Design Week, Boon Room,
Paris. September 9 – 18. (Exhibitor)
2020 Wet Metal, WIP Gallery,
Montreal. November 11 to 30. (Curator & Exhibitor)
2025 Le Devoir.
Ce qu’il reste du brutalisme au Québec.
2024 Dezeen.
Nine Montreal independent design
studios to follow in 2024.
2023 Elle Québec.
Marie-Mai, esprit paradoxal.
2023 Decormag.
Expressivité brute. Fall 2023.
2023 Stir Pad.
Editions 8888 launches the dark and enigmatic
'Ghost Limbs' furniture collection.
2023 Dezeen.
Sixteen furniture designers to see
at Wanted Design's Look Book
2023 Liminul Magazine.
Jean-Michel Gadoua : Master of Brutality.
2023 AD France (Architectural Digest).
Hors-série Spécial Design No. 27. 2023.
2022 La Presse.
Le design brut d’Éditions 8888.
2022 Elle Décoration.
2022 Frontrunner Magazine.
Careful Curation with Éditions 8888.
2021 MIX Colour Hive.
2021 The Globe & Mail.
Quebec creatives team up to foster a
Canadian art-furniture movement.
2021 Sight Unseen.
Saturday Selects
2020 Index-Design.
Nouvelle cellule créative pour l'émergence
d'un mouvement artistique québécois.
2020 Huffington Post.
Éditions 8888 : un collectif de créateurs
québécois qui va faire jaser.
2020 La Presse.
Sous le signe du métal.
2024 New Aesthetics Prize. Awarded by Adorno
& ICFF for the Acid Mantra Collection, shown at ICFF, New York, 2024.
France: Boon Room.
9, rue de Lesdiguières 75004 Paris, France.
USA: Dudd Haus.
307 Arch St. Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA.