PATRICK MIKHAIL GALLERY PRESENTS “EPHEMERAL” BY MONTRÉAL ARTIST PAUL BUREAU
PAUL BUREAU
EPHEMERAL
MONTRÉAL
JUNE 1 TO JULY 27, 2019
ARTIST RECEPTION:
SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2019
2 P.M. TO 6 P.M.
PATRICK MIKHAIL GALLERY in Montréal is pleased to present EPHEMERAL, by Montréal painter PAUL BUREAU. In this second solo presentation with the gallery, Bureau’s painterly abstracted remains have liberated a new body of work.
In EPHEMERAL, Paul Bureau has liberated himself to explore new crossroads addressing painterly and sculptural issues alike. The supports for each work vary from unfired clay to cardboard, stretched fabric, and copper panels all induced in various matter. The painterly qualities are triggered from the residue of oil paint tubes that have been scraped and salvaged as abandoned abstractions. These fragmented remains echo extensive colour palettes that are the root of many painted surfaces. This discarded matter now becomes part of large monochromatic fabrics that are the extended canvas.
Bureau has created objects that extend into bouldering shapes of unfired clay that erupt from cracks and crevices blemished from copper particles and opposing painterly palettes. The oil surfaces are a balancing act nearing an acrobatic manoeuvre. The escalating and throbbing paint is extended and bodily—applied to copper panels in a direct, and spontaneous manner as waves of oil paint surface in a reduced colour palette. These opponents are now the expression of new liberties that are the open-ended expression within time.
Bureau carries on the long tradition of Québec abstraction begun with such notables as Borduas, Riopelle, Molinari, and Gaucher. Known for his deep and sometimes unusual investigations into abstraction, Bureau employs materials ranging from traditional canvas and paper to cardboard and clay. There is a logical and consistent evolution in his exploration of abstract art leading to revelatory and eye-pleasing results.
Paul Bureau’s work has been the focus of professional reviews, texts, and critical discourses by Robert Enright, Gary Michael Dault, Mark Lanctot, Rene Viau, James D. Campbell, John Bentley Mays, and his work earned a mentioned in Roald Nasgaard’s 2008 Abstract Painting in Canada. His work can be found in private, corporate, and public collections including those of the Royal Bank of Canada, Aldo Group, Canada Council Art Bank of Canada, and Cenovus Energy. He has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions both nationally and internationally, and has participated in numerous art fairs in Europe and North America. Bureau earned both a BFA and MFA from Montréal’s Concordia University, and has since furthered his studies in Paris.
