David Lafrance is one of those artists whose work seems to flow from a gushing well of ideas and images. A prolific artist, he has shown in 25 group and 20 solo shows since a year or two before graduating with a BA in art and drawing from Concordia University in 2001. His work has a clearly identifiable visual language, yet each piece seems fresh. He paints from a raging dream, riding the waves of imagination with courage and good humour.

His marvellous paintings are complete worlds, conjuring up festive kingdoms and jungles. Few artists embrace the colour green with such confidence. Lush carpets crawl with life under vibrant skies. His night time paintings are so alive and full of sounds, music, insects, cackling. His human figures remind me of precocious animals. Everything David Lafrance touches with a brush or pen, from a canvas to paper to a slab of scrap of wood, springs to life. Looking at his work restores my joie de vivre.

Tomb is a magnificent, juicy painting, formal and yet at the same time strange and beautifully composed. David’s work makes me think of Alfred Jarry and the absurdist play Ubu Roi. Maybe this is some mad clown/king’s resting place, his monument, a hollow mask. The horizon could be a shoreline. Strange illogical footsteps lead away from the path, or into the picture and stop, suddenly.

David is represented by the Galerie Dominique Bouffard in Montreal; Michael Gibson Gallery in London, Ontario; Gallery St. Laurent + Hill in Ottawa.

- Marianne Ackerman

www.davidlafrance.com

www.galeriedominiquebouffard.com

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