The Foundation presented a significant retrospective of Guido Molinari, at the Musée d’art contemporain in Baie-Saint-Paul (Quebec).
In 1954, Le Petit Journal, in a brief item, referred to Guido Molinari as being “recognized as one of the theorists of automatism in Montréal”. The artist set the record straight in a telegram: “Have never joined the automatist group — stop — therefore cannot be one of its theorists — stop — I am the theorist of molinarism…”
Of course, Molinari was responding in jest, since he had not yet held a solo exhibition. More than 60 years have passed and “molinarism” now refers to a movement which has left its mark on painting in Canada. Molinari was not only the theorist of the movement; he was also its most generous and energizing practitioner.
In fact, following his legendary canvases of 1951, that he painted inthe dark and which were a lesson in… automatism for the disciples of Borduas, Molinari never stopped restructuring abstract spaces in a manner that was generally found disconcerting and regarded as “art for the sake of research”. As he set for himself time frames that could vary as necessary from a few weeks to several years, Molinari never ceased considering colour — and black and white! — as forms of pure energy destined to be intergrated in paintings that would never breathe to the exact same tempo. He found solace from the public’s relative lack of interest by reminding himself that “even Mondrian’s works were once considered experimental and unworthy of being exhibited with those of other artists…”
– Gilles Daigneault
Virtual tour of the exhibition here!
Read the exhibition flyer below (French only) :
