Born in India, educated in England, and a citizen of Canada, Michael Forster had international artistic roots, making it difficult to place his body of work in any one artistic movement or category. The supremacy of color was paramount to Forster, who here subtly blended layers of paint into gently refined compositions. His rich variations, luminous passages and inherent brilliant surface textures remain compelling even in his smaller works. Coupled with Forster's dexterous handling of paint, the richness of his colors make his works truly exceptional. Such varied and richly abstracted pictures place Forster as a stand-out amongst his contemporaries. He remained active in Canada for more than forty-five years and contributed substantially to the role in the cultural history of Canadian art. A frequent exhibitor with the major art societies by the 1930s, and with several of his paintings in the country's major museum collections at an early age by the 1940s, Forster is an artist with a unique and important place in the annals of contemporary art that reaches beyond international borders.
Forster's additional concern for the essence of paint itself led him to create mesmerizing surface textures as seen in our example that were deeply personal and full of emotion. The floating forms that fill the entire canvas bear a close resemblance to Tamayo's works especially through the all-enveloping, deep, full, and impressive array of colors. In this landscape composition all visible images have been reduced to the fantastical world of color. A highly refined and extremely disciplined abstract work, Untitled boasts luminous passages that resonate and create a lustrous glow.
Messum's, London
Messum's, London, 2-26 October, 2013
