LAYERS, COLOURS AND CONTRAST
by Jacques Belleau
Saturday, April 5 - Saturday, April 13
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Upon graduating from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Architecture, Jacques Belleau focused on residential design projects in the Ottawa area throughout his career.
His childhood passion for art has ignited an exploration of the world of abstract painting which Jacques has pursued in a weekly evening course at the Ottawa School of Art, and more recently, with unimpeded commitment in his retirement.
While architecture and painting share the same realm the former is bound by practical constraints which may limit the inventiveness of the final product. Painting however is tethered only by the physical size of the support.
Despite any significant resemblance to things in the real world, abstract painting possesses meaning and quality that may trigger an appreciable response in the individual viewer. ‘I explore abstraction, the world of picturing the unpicturable, as a construction of layers, colours and contrasts. The physicality of the process is reflected in the subsequent painterly effects that translate into a dynamic configuration that entices the viewer to further explore the painted surface.’
Whether it be a freshly unwrapped canvas support or a previously created work that inspires further experimentation overtop, a process is initiated of which the final outcome is always unknown. It is this element of the undiscovered that is the virtue of abstraction which ultimately captivates Jacques’ imagination.
His childhood passion for art has ignited an exploration of the world of abstract painting which Jacques has pursued in a weekly evening course at the Ottawa School of Art, and more recently, with unimpeded commitment in his retirement.
While architecture and painting share the same realm the former is bound by practical constraints which may limit the inventiveness of the final product. Painting however is tethered only by the physical size of the support.
Despite any significant resemblance to things in the real world, abstract painting possesses meaning and quality that may trigger an appreciable response in the individual viewer. ‘I explore abstraction, the world of picturing the unpicturable, as a construction of layers, colours and contrasts. The physicality of the process is reflected in the subsequent painterly effects that translate into a dynamic configuration that entices the viewer to further explore the painted surface.’
Whether it be a freshly unwrapped canvas support or a previously created work that inspires further experimentation overtop, a process is initiated of which the final outcome is always unknown. It is this element of the undiscovered that is the virtue of abstraction which ultimately captivates Jacques’ imagination.
