Annabelle Marquis

In spectacularly atmospheric abstract compositions, Montreal-based artist Annabelle Marquis combines paints and collage so that they flow together organically. In certain pieces, the expressive brushstrokes seem to bleed out from the paper fragments, as if the collage elements inspired by Marquis’ painted forms. Elsewhere, however, cloud-like swaths of grays, reds, white and gold funnel towards a central cluster of pasted images, suggesting that, perhaps, the paints are crystallizing or condensing into a different material. Exploring each canvas is an alchemical process, changing in style, form and medium as the eye moves from diffuse painted sections into sharp and precise collage.

As acrylic and paper merge, sometimes imperceptibly, Marquis offers a new perspective on a style of quintessentially Quebecois Abstract Expressionism pioneered by Paul-Émile Borduas. The practically baroque, glossy textures and rich colors of the collage elements stand in stark contrast to the surrounding sparse acrylic fogs. By shaping and deploying cut-outs as if they were daubs of paint, Marquis tests our perception and helps us to see differently.