Lumière d’été X, 1976

Marlborough-Godard, Toronto Chevron Canada Resources Hodgins Art Auctions, Calgary Private Collection, Calgary

After a decade of focusing on sculpture, Comtois returned to painting in the 1970s, adopting an enlarged pointillist technique. “Lumière d’été X” demonstrates this new style as well as the artist’s interest in creating energetic compositions using intense colour juxtapositions. Using layered dots of lime green, yellow, coral and azure blue, Comtois creates a radiating composition that is reminiscent of the hot summer sun, as suggested by the painting’s title. In the 1970s Comtois alternated between expressive and geometric forms, and became interested in revisiting Mondrian's legacy in his painting. His work of this decade reflects the distinguishing abstract aesthetic of art and design in Montreal surrounding Expo 67 and the 1976 Olympics. Comtois taught at the Université du Québec à Montréal in the early 1970s, and subsequently at Concordia University. He was awarded the prestigious Paul-Émile Borduas Prize in 1978 by the Government of Quebec for his contribution to the Quebec and international art scene.