Diversity of style
Passing through many different styles throughout his career, Fournier painted works with recognizable landscapes and references to figurative objects such as sailboats and plants in the 1960s and early 1970s, moving into more abstracted, gestural works that still remained rooted in inspiration from the natural world.
Image: Paul Fournier. “Demonia of Gaddara”. 1966. Ink drawing on aluminum. 10 1/16 x 15 3/8 in. Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton.
Klonaridis Group
In the 1970s, Fournier became a member of the Klonaridis Group. Following in the tradition of the Painters Eleven, the group joined together to encourage and explore modernist expressions among peers. Mentored by Jack Bush in the groups early years, the members were inspired by the legacy of local Abstract Expressionists that came before them. The group continued to exhibit together well into the 1990s, including at the Moore Gallery in 1995, located at the time in Hess Village.
Image: Paul Fournier. “Cajamarca Red”. 1987. Acrylic on canvas. 60 x 80 in.
“Fournier’s passionate dialogue with both nature and the stuff of painting links even his most diverse works. No matter how potent the allusion, Fournier, as a highly intuitive artist with a profound belief in the expressive power of his materials, always makes us aware of the sensuality of paint, the excitement of the act of painting”
– Karen Wilkin, Canadian Art, Summer 1991
