signed & dated lower right
Provenance: Formerly from the collection of art dealer Gerard Gorce, Montreal QC; Masters Gallery, Calgary AB
Montreal-born Marcel Barbeau is an important figure in Quebec contemporary art. Barbeau studied at the Ecole du Meuble (1942-1947) under Paul-Emile Borduas. In 1948, he became one of the original signatories of Borduas’ groundbreaking manifesto “Refus Global” and, as an active member of the Automatistes, he exhibited in every major exhibition by the group.
Beginning in 1952, the artist began to travel extensively, living and working internationally, with exhibits in the United States, Europe, Canada and North Africa. By the late 1950s, his gestural work had begun to evolve, eventually reflecting a more structured and geometric approach.
Marcel Barbeau’s career spanned seven decades. A retrospective exhibition was held at the Winnipeg Art Gallery in 1969; an exhibition of his post-Automatiste work (late 1950s-early 1960s) was held in Paris in 1971; and the Musee National des Beaux-arts du Quebec mounted “Marcel Barbeau: in Motion”, a major retrospective of Barbeau’s work in 2018, the same year that saw the establishment of the Marcel Barbeau Foundation.
