Bruno Côté ( 1940-2010)
Title ” Printemps: Pres de Barachoix (Spring: Near to Barachoix) ”
Size 20″ x 24″ ( 28 3/4″ x 32 3/4″ framed ) ………$5,600.00 Canadian
Provenance; Hollander York Gallery
Influenced by the Group of Seven, Côté produced Canadian landscapes and coastal scenes that often incorporated lone cabins or quaint villages nestled amongst the hills and valleys. He was also very proficient at creating vibrant and dramatic works by amplifying light and shadows with his broad brush stokes, often loaded with an adventurous colour palette.
Born in Quebec City in 1940, Bruno Côté was primarily a self-taught artist. He began working at his father’s company drawing billboards and lettering, before eventually becoming the firm’s art director. Having a love of the outdoors and painting “plein air”, Côté captured nature’s dramatic morning and late day lighting. These sketches would be referenced later in the studio, generating larger works. He settled in Baie-Saint-Paul with his family and in 1978 held his first solo exhibition in the town. In search of new landscapes to paint, Côté travelled to the Canadian Rockies in 1980. This was the start of a journey that would see him painting Canadian scenes from coast to coast over the following years.
Viewing Bruno Côté’s Printemps: Pres de Barachoix, our eyes are immediately drawn to the brilliant sunlit green foliage near Barachoix. Trailing down though the branches and trunk to the road below, the sight line continues out to the mountains in the distance. Along the way, the artist slowly reveals the numerous dwellings along its meandering course. Although the sky has been darkened to an almost navy hue, the brilliance of the tree and winding valley dotted with houses give a vibrancy to the scene. It calls to mind not only the rainy weather of the season, but the life it creates and sustains.
Enthusiasm makes the difference (Bruno Cote’s studio) October 5 2007
Copyright of the artist and or the artist estate.