Entre deux mondes by Roger-François Thépot

Born in 1925 in Landeleau Finistère, France, Roger-François Thépot was a French artist known for his geometric abstract paintings. He was largely self-taught, beginning in 1941 with images of landscapes and still lifes in a dark colour palette. In 1947 the young artist moved to Paris and shifted his focus to ceramics for several years, before resuming painting in 1950. Thépot's work became gradually more and more abstract, and fully abandoned figuration by 1951. He became a designer and manager at the Théâtre de Poche in Paris in 1953. His involvement in the Parisian art scene allowed him to encounter highly renowned abstract artists such as Kandinsky and Arp, who influenced Thépot's painting. In 1964 the artist received a grant from the Arts Council of Canada and moved to Toronto. Thépot taught for several years at the Ontario College of Art, while returning to France during the summers. His mature work consists of balanced and ordered abstract compositions, often in grey and black. Thépot died in 2003.