Mixed Media of peint and incorporated materials on wood panel by Therese Tardif-Côte – Abstraction with textured materials, 1962

Original artwork by Therese Tardif-Côte – Abstraction with textured materials, 1962

Mixed media of paint and incorporated materials on wood panel, signed and dated lower right

Framed

Dimensions: 121.9 x 92 cm – 48 x 36.25 po.

Provenance: Direct from artist and since then in a private collection at Ville Mont-Royal, Quebec, Canada

Price: 750,00 $ CAD (Canadian Dollars) – For more information on artist or artworks contact the gallery.

Thérèse TARDIF-CÔTE (1926 -)

Thérèse Tardif-Côte was born in 1926. She is a Quebec painter and sculptor and lived in the 1960s – 1970s in Saint Jérôme, Quebec. In her sculptures, she enjoyed working with soapstone. As a painter, she incorporated and applied materials to create tactile and visual depth.

In her paintings, she sometimes used soapstone residue, or powdered soapstone, mixed with pigments or paint, as well as paper in the form of papier-mâché, silk bran, ground wood shavings, seed grain or homemade texture paste. This approach evokes the monumental murals and raw textures of Brutalist architecture, with its walls and facades, primarily made of concrete, so fashionable at the time.

Exhibitions:

April 19, 1963 – First solo exhibition at Galerie Rita Huot – Amherst Street, Montreal

September 30, 1965 – Galerie L’art Français, Montreal – Two-artist exhibition with paintings and sculptures by Thérèse Tardif-Côte and Jean Noël

June 1966 – Galerie L’art Français, Montreal – Four-person exhibition: Thérèse Tardif-Côte, Jean Sylcor, Shayna Laing and P.V. Beaulieu.

1969 – 1968 Art Competition, Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art, February 19 to March 16

Bibliography:

Guides and Dictionaries: Comeau, p. 240 – Visual Artists (Artistes plasticiens) – Author: Comeau, André – Publisher: Bellarmin – Montreal, 1983 – Pages 262 p – ISBN-10: 2-89007-513-3

Guides and Dictionaries: McMann, Spring Exhibitions 1880–1970 p 82 – Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, formerly Art Association of Montreal – 1988 – Authors: McMann, Evelyn de Rostaing – Publisher – University of Toronto Press – Pages 440 – ISBN-13-978-1-48757-622-6

Note:

A work of Brutalist inspiration, this style is found primarily in architecture but also in monumental sculptures of the time.

Brutalism enjoyed a significant period of popularity in Quebec, particularly during the years of rapid urban development in the 1960s and 1970s. It was perceived as a modern and bold style, adapted to the needs of the time. Consider Habitat 67 in Montreal, Complexe Guy-Favreau in Montreal, and Le Grand Théâtre de Québec.

In the visual arts:

Artists explored the principles of Brutalism by using raw materials, geometric shapes, and rough textures in their works.

Example of Monumental Sculpture: Armand Vaillancourt’s “Québec Libre!” fountain, installed in San Francisco, is an example of Brutalist sculpture, with its massive forms and use of concrete. Other artists who flirted with Brutalism in Canada included Robert Roussil, Lise Gervais, Albert Dumouchel, Paterson Ewen, Betty Goodwin, and Joyce Wieland.

These artists, while exhibiting individual styles, shared an interest in raw and direct expression, which can be seen as a manifestation of the Brutalist spirit in Canadian visual art of this period.

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