Jean Carignan by Henry Saxe

Provenance:
Private Collection, Ottawa

Henry Saxe was one of Canada’s most innovative mixed-media artist of the 1960s and 70s; his major exhibition at the National Gallery in 1973 served as one of the first examples of installation art in North America. Raised in Montreal, Saxe began his career surrounded by the active and avant-garde Quebec art scene of the 1960s. Les Plasticiens and post-Automatiste abstraction was the dominating aesthetic at the time, which fuelled his search for his own original abstract approach. Saxe moved to Tamworth, Ontario to pursue his career as a full-time artist, working in metal sculpture and two-dimensional works that blend Constructivism and Abstract Expressionism.

“Jean Carignan” is one of Saxe’s mixed-media hanging sculptural works whose appearance alters depending on the light in the room as well as the angle from which it is viewed. The title makes reference to the famous 20th century Québecois fiddler Jean Carignan.