“Vol d’octobre” (1998), via www.canadianart.ca
It was revealed Tuesday that Montreal-born painter Jacques Hurtubise passed away suddenly over the weekend at his home on Cape-Breton Island, in Nova Scotia.
The prolific Quebec artist carved out a place for himself on the Canadian art scene with a distinct style of abstraction marked by large canvases, bold colours, geometric shapes in the early days, and later, trademark black splashes somewhat reminiscent of Rorschach test ink blots.
Hurtubise had a “pop sensibility” says Art Gallery of Nova Scotia curator Sarah Fillmore, a desire to remain current without “losing himself”.
“Nika” (1971)
He was fueled by a devout passion, writing on his website:
“My father was a grocer. I worked there all the time. I was good, I sold everything. I was my father’s son…At 16 years old, he wanted to give me the business. I didn’t want it. I told him I wanted to paint. He said to me that I would starve to death. I said to him that if I could sell his tomatoes, I could sell my paintings.”
Trained at Montreal’s School of Fine Arts, Hurtubise also studied in New York and began exhibiting his work in 1961, when he was only 21 years old.
“Chippawa” (2004), via http://www.hurtubisejacques.com/
Some of his paintings have graced the walls of museums and galleries in the United States, Europe and Brazil.
Last time Fillmore saw him, this past summer, he was still very much active, using road maps and weather maps as a starting point for his latest creations.
The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia was planning to feature some of the paintings it had recently acquired from him in February. Now Fillmore says it will reframe the exhibit to honour him appropriately.
Curator Sarah Fillmore talks about Jacques Hurtubise in an interview with RCI:
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