Over the past two decades, Montreal painter François Lacasse has developed an impressive reputation for poetic compositions formed by the deft manipulation of paint poured directly onto canvas. It is a working process that connects the visual with the tactile in painterly gestures that uncover organic structures within the surfaces of his often large-scale works. Lacasse owes much to the American tradition of abstract painting and considering his work over time one gets the sense that each series is a practised study not only of conceptual technique but also of the material essence of paint itself.
This couldn’t be clearer than in the suite of new paintings currently on view at Galerie René Blouin. In them, Lacasse has traded the rich colours of earlier works for a selection of near-monochromatic greys. By paring down the optics with a neutral palette, Lacasse has effectively amplified the interplay between layers of paint. Meticulously poured with a spoon, the new paintings are all about process and structure. It’s a bold move that concentrates the work on the pursuit of pure form and the results are, as always, strikingly beautiful. (372 rue Ste-Catherine O #501, Montreal QC)
