Lot 41: PAUL FOURNIER, R.C.A., TARAWA PASSAGE, 1989, acrylic on canvas, unframed, 68 ins x 102 ins; 172.7 cms x 260.4 cms

PAUL FOURNIER, R.C.A.TARAWA PASSAGE, 1989acrylic on canvas, unframedsigned, titled and dated “88-89” on the reverse 68 ins x 102 ins; 172.7 cms x 260.4 cms Provenance:Private Collection, TorontoLiterature:Karen Wilken, “On Paul Fournier,” Paul Fournier: Realms of Being, Han Art Gallery, Montreal, 2015. Paul Fournier, Paul Fournier: Beneath and Beyond, Miriam Shiell Fine Art, Toronto, 2012.In Tarawa Passage, brushstrokes in shades of indigo, cerulean, and turquoise sweep across the canvas converging with an array of dazzling colours in the top right corner. Like so many of Paul Fournier’s (b.1939) dynamic abstractions, his inspiration for Tarawa Passage derives from nature; in this case, the colours and atmosphere of the tropics. Throughout Fournier’s career, he has sought to explore nature’s poetic and spiritual dimensions while reveling in the materiality of paint. According to Karen Wilken, Fournier’s “passionate dialogue with both nature and the stuff of painting links even his most diverse works…[They are] joyous metaphors for intense feelings about the natural world.” Estimate: $2,000–4,000