Monday Inspiration: Henriette Fauteaux-Masse

Henriette Fauteux-Masse, 1962, Labyrinthe (source)

Henriette Fauteux-Masse, Avalanche, 1960, (source)

Henriette Fauteux-Masse (1924-2005), studied in Paris in 1951, after years of exploring painting on her own. After she returned to Quebec, she continued to teach herself to paint, and was very successful, her work is collected in the national gallery and she was a member of all sorts of art communities. I love a history of someone who is self taught- and succeeds- I often think that art school(especially the degree aspect of it) is a bit of a waste of time- but it seems that these days the degree holds sway, sometimes, nice to see that the opposite can sometimes be true.

I love these bold works, the colours are so vibrant- but restrained in quantity to make them really pop, and you just tell that these works are really juicy in person; full of marks, and slashes and smears that recall the making of the work, the process behind the finished piece. I especially love the way that the lone curved box in Avalanche makes the whole painting seem unstable, makes all the blocks feel like they're in motion. It's that moment right before everything falls where it all freezes and looks weightless.

Sorry for missing last week- I'm sort of amazed by how the addition of School (part time at that!) changes so much of our (unorganized) routine, we're settling into it, but also dealing with a cold too (she must have caught it on the first day-I'm aghast- and pumping out the immune boosting tinctures). Hope you're all enjoying these last few days of summer!

Monday Inspiration 2014 is all about Canadian artists. Each Monday I'll pick a new one to profile- If you can think of any that you think I ought to look up- please let me know in the comments- I'd love to hear from you. You can find a list of the artists I've done so far here.