Philippe Chabot

"sans-titre (le gala)", 2012, 66" x 60", Acrylic on wood

"machine à vide", 2012, 48" x 48", acrylic on wood

"Getting Comfy", 2011, 64" x 50",  acrylic on canvas

"Bife Weater", 2011, 64" x 50", acrylic on canvas

"Moonshiner", 2012, 48” x 48”, acrylic on wood

Phillipe Chabot is an artist in Montreal, Quebec, whose highly stylized expressionist figures of only a couple of years ago have largely faded into pure abstraction. Those roots in representation provide the work a solidity and skill level that are often missing from some young artists who dive straight into abstract work. Drawing is the foundation behind painting. And draw he does. Even when it's just shapes. He has a keen affinity for composition and color and makes full use of a range of textures and mark making. Large flat areas of color and sharp edges are countered with the occasional hash-marks, drips and gestural brushwork. The contrast between the expressive mode and the more careful constructionist style is new, dominating his more recent paintings. All of this may be of little interest to the casual viewer but it's an integral part of his process and process seems to be his real interest. To get  a really good idea of what this means in practice you really should watch his short time lapse video of a 2010 painting on his website (here). Myriad images appear and disappear as he paints over and over building up layers, most of them are eventually completely covered. But the final image reveals enough of what went on before to give some feel for his approach.
See more work at www.pchabot.com

seen at www.booooooom.com