Lot 76: Jean-Paul Armand Mousseau 1927 - 1991 Canadian oil

Jean-Paul Armand Mousseau 1927 - 1991 Canadian oil on wood Tableau circulaire 36 diameter inches 91.4 centimeters signed and dated 1964 Provenance:Acquired directly from the Artist by the present Private Collection, Montreal In the mid 1960s, Jean-Paul Mousseau created and exhibited a series of circular paintings that were affixed to metal mechanisms. This structure allowed the paintings to rotate 360 degrees, thus permitting and encouraging the viewer to choose the arrangement of the composition. The bold combinations of colour, along with the two bands of primarily black and yellow, create a simple yet strong geometric composition, providing the viewer with a multitude of striking visual options. Mousseau made his work available to the Montreal community through his various public commissions, and Tableau circulaire encourages the active visual engagement he so strongly promoted. The 1960s proved to be a productive and significant period for Mousseau, which subsequently led to a retrospective at the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal in 1967. Also, the National Gallery of Canada has a work from this series from the same year in their permanent collection. Tableau circulaire is a rare offering to the market, and to our knowledge, no comparable piece has been offered at auction before.