Montreal was the first home of advanced contemporary art practice in Canada. Beginning with the radical Refus Global manifesto of Les Automatistes in 1948, the city became a hothouse for postwar abstract painting, first with Borduas and Riopelle in the 1950s and then with the great 60s generation of Guido Molinari, Yves Gaucher, Jean McEwen and Charles Gagnon. In “MONTREAL: The 50s, 60s, 70s,” Mira Godard has put together a select exhibition of works by these artists (sans Molinari) that attests to the high standards of the Montreal abstract painting scene. With the Art Gallery of Ontario closed for renovations, it is as close to a modernist museum show as Toronto will see this year.
| <img src="/online/features/2008/02/07/5b_montreal.jpg" alt="Jean McEwen Quatre Rectangles Rouges 1963 ” style=”border: none; clear: none;” /> | |
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Jean McEwen Quatre Rectangles Rouges 1963 Courtesy Mira Godard Gallery |
