JEU DE BROUETTE 1988

This painting titled "Jeu de brouette" was made by René Marcil, but when, we don't know. Looking at it, it seems to have emerged quite freely, a shifting world of imagery captured with expressive brushstrokes and a raw energy. I imagine Marcil, brush in hand, intuitively layering the colors and forms. The teal background feels like a wash, against which the wheelbarrow is boldly outlined, almost as if lifted from a comic strip. And whoa, the juxtaposition of the wheelbarrow with those skeletal figures! The colours – bright orange, deep greens, stark blacks – intensify the visual story. The painting feels kind of diaristic. Is it me, or do you also sense echoes of other artists? Like the playfulness of Dubuffet, or the graphic punch of Léger? It all reminds us that artists are always in conversation with each other, picking up ideas and running with them into their own unique visions. Marcil invites us to embrace the uncertainty and find our own meanings within the layers of paint.