Leon Bellefleur
1910 – 2007

“The fundamental discoveries for me were poetry, surrealism and esotericism, and as in art, a certain automatism translating the life of dreams and the subconscious, the world of chance and mystery.”

The early 1940’s ushered in the modern art movement in Quebec, which until then was characterized by a conservative , academic style. With exhibitions by Fritz Brandtner, the Beaver Hall Group, Goodridge Roberts and John Lyman, Quebec artists embraced the movement towards a new style and sensibility. Joining the Contemporary Arts Society in 1943 Bellefleur began to follow a style that was more colourful , imaginative and through the influence of Alfred Pellan, Bellfleur began to apply surrealism to his work.

By the mid 1950’s Bellefleur’s art was motivated by his belief in imagination, dreams and improvised forms. Using brighter colours and with the introduction of the spatula and white pigment enabled him to contrast colours. Les Chutes is an example of the multi-layered, multi textured abstract painting characterized by a range of rhythms and pigments that represent his style of lyrical abstraction and poetry, and as Bellefleur described his art, dreaming in technicolour.

“The spatula takes direct control of the colour, slices it with its steel blade and deposits it coldly on the canvas, while the brush caresses it with its silky hairs, mixes it subtly and spreads it obligingly”

Credit: Bellefleur, The Fervour of the Quest, Editions Iconia, 1988

Collections:
According to the Canadian Heritage Information Network there are 117 Bellefleur works in museums across Canada.