In the 1950s and 1960s, increasingly committed in his creation of graphic compositions to a radicalization of motifs, Guido Molinari explored a variety of geometric forms through a series of prints in black and white. This body of work also examines the notion of rhythm—visual rhythm—by means of a sophisticated organization in which the subtle asymmetry of lines alters our perception and creates an optical effect.

Biography

Born in Montréal in 1933, Guido Molinari died there in February 2004. His training in art consisted only of a few courses taken at his hometown’s École des beaux-arts and Museum of Fine Arts’ school between 1948 and 1951. His first solo show was held at the L’Échourie gallery in 1953 and, three years later, his work was exhibited in the United States for the first time. In 1965, he took part in a major exhibition, The Responsive Eye, at New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), before representing Canada in 1968 at the 34th Venice Biennale, where he was awarded a David E. Bright Foundation prize. In 1980, he became the youngest recipient of the Prix Paul-Émile-Borduas.