Louis Comtois
Montreal (Québec), Canada, 1945 - New York (New York), United States, 1990
From the end of the 1960s until his death in 1990, Louis Comtois developed a primarily abstract pictorial approach, determined by the advancements of the Plasticiens movement, particularly by Fernand Leduc. After following his interest in integrating art in architecture, he explored the effects of hard-edge painting, influenced by the Plasticiens and their American counterparts. Colour soon became his primary obsession, and would remain the driving element of his practice for years to come. In the early 1980s, Comtois abandoned acrylic and the traditional canvas in favour of oil and encaustic, as well as a broad range of supports such as wood, plaster and cement. This led to extensive experimentation that brought out the tactile and sensuous aspects of his work through the nuances and variations of the painted surface.
