signed lower left; signed, titled, dated 1964 and inscribed “Vence A.M. France” on the reverse
23.5 × 28.5 in (59.7 × 72.4 cm)
Auction Estimate:$25,000 - $35,000
Sale date:May 30, 2024
Price Realized
$31,460
(including Buyer's Premium)
Provenance
Dominion Gallery, Montreal
Galerie Claude Lafitte, Montreal
Private Collection
Jean-Phillipe Dallaire travelled to Paris to continue his studies in 1938, encountering the work of Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, and Joan Miró. Dallaire returned to Canada following the Second World War, and incorporated the influences of Surrealism, Cubism and mythological themes into his art. A highly idiosyncratic painter, Dallaire experimented ceaselessly, pushing his original style in new directions. Painted in the last year or so of the artist’s tragically short life, "Exotic Village" pulsates with shadowy dabs that play across the bright colour palette. The fanciful and simplified line work is reminiscent of the art of Paul Klee. An uncanny array of forms include a surreal figure, strange machinery and a fish-like shape taking startling flight. Dreamlike and playful, these lively, biomorphic forms seem to be drawn from the unfiltered subconscious of the artist.
