Tableaux récents
April 4 - May 9, 2015
It is with great pleasure that Galerie Trois Points presents Tableaux récents, a solo exhibition gathering a new series of paintings by artist Richard Mill. From April 4th to May 9th, Mill’s works will unfold in the two gallery spaces, integrating symbolically charged objects that bring an almost totemic element to his paintings.
Richard Mill is adding to the research he initiated some time ago in incorporating different types of found objects to his paintings, challenging the flatness of the deep dark painted surfaces that remind of his practice in the 1970’s. In mixing paint and objects, the artist brings a real sensual and physical dimension to his collages. These revealing elements, whether they are decorative, sculptural or usual, evoke Mill’s sensibility to their power of reminiscence: scroll, column, bell, axe, level, grindstone or two-men saw. These objects all evoke delight and labour, invariably taking us back to the physicality of the body.
This strong presence brings us back to the essence of the painting while each element is shown in a very minimal manner. Over time, the artist has developed a highly controlled yet gestural plastic language. The sense of gesture in the tinted areas and impastos, and the quiet strength that comes from the wood, metal and stone objects emphasizes Mill’s sincere approach to the mediums. In leaving parts of the canvas raw, he reveals his desire to point to both the materiality and objectivity of the painting while flirting (fleuretant, as says the artist in French) with the symbolic.
Richard Mill lives and works in Quebec City. He taught for over thirty years at the School of Visual Arts at Laval University in Quebec. Today considered one of the most important painters of his generation, his works are part of numerous private, corporate, public and museum collections, including the Museum of Contemporary Art of Montreal, National Museum of Fine Arts of Musée of Quebec, Museum of Fine Arts of Montreal, Art Museum of Joliette, Regional Museum of Rimouski, Collection Prêt d’œuvres d’art, Art Bank of Canada, Fédération des Caisses Desjardins, Collection Hydro-Québec and Bank of Montréal. He also is a triple winner of the Prix Videre d’excellence de la culture, an award granted by the Council of Culture of Quebec City to a visual artist.