Untitled 1976

About Untitled 1976

John Fox was highly regarded for his masterful use of layers of luxurious colour in his elegant abstract paintings. The overall colour palette of this large piece appears to be a uniform dusky aubergine but beneath that are subtle undertones of green and burgundy. In the 1970’s the Canadian artist developed a simple process of using masking tape on his canvases and once the tape was removed intriguing calligraphic lines appeared. These curated markings and layers of luminous paint added both texture and weight to the images.

"I am a painter, that's all I've done for thirty years. I've never believed in talent, only in interest, and in work. Art is a terrifically long-term thing. You find out about yourself first. The rest comes later, sometimes much later." John Fox

“In colour he is individual and ingratiating, rich and glowing without being sumptuous, and reticent, wearing it like a mellow bloom, when it is time to be subdued."
Robert Ayre, Art Critic, Montreal Star

John Fox was born in Montreal in 1927 and attended McGill University, the École des beaux-arts de Montréal, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the School of Art and Design. In 1952, Fox received a British Council Scholarship to study at the Slade School of Art, University of London, followed by two years of working in Florence and Paris. In the late 1960’s he returned to Montreal to begin his professional life as a painter and teacher at the Saidye Bronfman Centre. In 1970, he became a professor in the Painting and Drawing Department at Concordia University until his retirement. Fox was a member of the Canadian Group of Painters and an Associate Member of the Royal Canadian Academy. A lifelong resident of Montreal, he also spent several months each year in Venice, Italy. His artwork is held in many private, corporate and public collections including the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, the MacKenzie Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Museum London, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal and The National Gallery of Canada.