Solitude du Clown, 1950

Arthur Tooth & Sons, London, England (1961) Private Collection, Ontario

Paul-Émile Borduas’ mature work from 1950-1952, just prior to settling in New York, reveals a shift away from Automatism to a more personal form of Abstract Expressionism. The distinction between object and ground becomes blurred, and a central focal point disappears in favour of a flattened, ‘all-over’ pictorial surface. This new direction is visible in both his oil on canvas paintings as well as his works on paper, such as “Solitude du clown” (1950). The ‘automatic’ brushstrokes of deep reds, black and grey fuse into one another to form an intertwined, web-like image, rather than in his previous work of distinct shapes detached from a clear background. Borduas would then proceed into further experimentation of this new method in New York two years later, inspired by Jackson Pollock’s ‘drip’ technique.