Jacques Hurtubise was best known as a Quebec abstract painter and printmaker from the generation following that of the Plasticiens (1955-1962). His hard-edged abstraction and bright, geometric patterning have often linked him to his peers Claude Tousignant, Guido Molinari and Yves Gaucher. It was, however, his unique sensitivity as a printmaker that informed his work and set him apart. Here, we trace Hurtubise’s career from his early graphic abstract paintings of the 1960s and 1970s, through his cut-outs, linework, masks, as well as the stencil work of his blackout period. Hurtubise created many of his more recent works from his home in Margaree Harbour, Nova Scotia, where he lived and worked for the last thirty years of his life. Comprised of thirty prints, this exhibition provides a definitive overview of this key figure in abstract art’s history and a fresh look at the definition of abstraction through print.
