« Painting is a thing of the mind », said Leonardo, and with good reason. This art form’s intrinsic nature stems from both colour, which is impalpable, and matter, by way of the pigment that brings it to life. In essence, it is at once tangible and abstract, both aspects inextricably fuelling each other. In practice, it is boundless, offering inexhaustible possibilities to the inspiration that guides the hand. Like a chess game, its apparent simplicity conceals a dazzling intricacy. To unravel it, we must listen. And hear.

To this end, we expound on it, we delineate it, we brand it. Every so often, we even sanctify it, although for it to be intrinsically alive, it must remain free and intimate. This is altogether the approach embraced by artist Robert Leprohon. In 1947, he took part in the Salon du printemps organised by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and ever since, his paintings have been out of sight and he has kept a discreet, low, and indeed even secret profile. This visual artist, as eloquent as he is mysterious, has remained on the sidelines of the major art movements and ideological debates of his time, but not of their aesthetic spirit nor of the visual philosophy he has wholeheartedly embraced and which has remarkably guided his practice on the path towards Light, rather than limelight.

Born in Montreal, Canada, in 1926, Leprohon seemed destined for a commercial career in the family business, but this prospect sounded less than exciting to him. In March 1944, two months before his 18th birthday, his college art teacher organized a visit to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts so that his students could attend an exhibition titled Five Centuries of Dutch Art. It was a revelation, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals, Ruysdael bedazzled him. From that moment, his destiny was sealed, painting would be his path. He began painting and attending art exhibitions. In Montreal at that time, a group of young artists gathered eagerly around Paul Émile Borduas, a theoretician and practitioner who pushed for a new vision of painting. The world evolves, so must art.

As a result, Robert Leprohon became acquainted with the great art movements of his day, and specifically with abstract art which at that time in Canada, was at the center of a great ideological debate. During this period, his paintings oscillated between figurative and non-figurative. Over time, his fascination with light developed and eventually predominated, becoming his main quest. His art belongs to no specific school of thought, it is unfettered, albeit still energized by his inspired research into the major art movements. Morse code expert in his youth, Leprohon developed his own “Light code” using colours as his alphabet. He combines them into complex patterns with shapes acting as modulators. Were he working with sounds, he wouldn’t do things differently. In other words, Robert Leprohon paints music, which is what bestows uniqueness to his artwork and, curiously, gives it all its aesthetic relevance.

Leprohon’s work is indeed formal, yet uncontrived, considering that although it is based on parameters specific to painting, and not to narrative or “evocativeness”, it nevertheless does not preclude emotion, quite the opposite. Emotion is inextricably linked to Leprohon’s painterly journey. To the point where, in some of his works, it is as vibrant as it is deeply moving in its musicality. This is one of the aspects which makes his artwork so unique and content-rich. Unusual, dense, tonal and poetic, Robert Leprohon’s art displays an astounding degree of integration.

His paintings are grouped into Series, revealing meaningful visual elements and compositional formats explored by Robert Leprohon throughout the years.

Translation from original text by Ivanka Bubić