Formes oubliées [Forgotten Forms]

Influenced by Surrealism, Canadian artist Paul-Émile Borduas founded the Automatiste movement in Montreal in the 1940s, a movement that prized intellectual freedom and was inspired by creating art with the subconscious mind. Painting with spontaneous gesture and abstract form, Borduas later moved to New York City, where he was further inspired by the American Abstract Expressionists. Borduas’ final compositions, including this work, were all done in stark black and whites; a calligraphic reflection of his desire for a sojourn to Japan.