Artist Q & A: Robert Marchessault

For his new Upper Gallery solo exhibition Windswept in Vancouver, acclaimed Canadian painter Robert Marchessault explains his long-continuing fascination with and veneration of trees, and how he uses sculpted form and colour to elicit emotional connection and response from viewers. Windswept opens at Bau-Xi Vancouver's Upper Gallery on Saturday May 10 and runs through May 24, 2025.

Robert Marchessault, Juruti. Oil and Acrylic on Panel, 60 x 48 inches


1. You've spoken about the tree as a "repeating motif" in your work, akin to how Giorgio Morandi used bottles in his paintings. What have trees revealed to you over the years that perhaps surprised you or deepened your approach to painting?

My approach to painting has been ongoing since I began my career. In recent years I am most interested in using painting as a response to experiences of nature, typically focused on landscapes and often on trees and smaller shrubs such as sagebrush. Many things delight and surprise me. They make me want to paint in order to echo non-verbal, visceral, primary experiences of them. Think of how we respond to music, it is immediate and within our body/mind.  Thinking intellectually comes after.



Robert Marchessault, Tres Orejas. Oil and Acrylic on Panel, 24 x 24 inches

2. In many of your works, the tree stands isolated against a colour field-like background. What role does that background play in shaping the emotional presence of the tree?

I see trees as sculptural. Using a spare background emphasizes the form a tree presents. When I don’t include typical landscape elements such as distant hills or majestic clouds I can focus on the interplay of branches, leaves and trunks. I do not paint specific trees but make composites of various forms, shapes textures and colours I have observed in nature. This allows me to “sculpt” my tree images in a mark and response manner during their creation. Each tree I paint is unique but not a rendering of any specific tree.



3. What is the emotional or compositional significance of wind in your paintings, particularly in this Windswept series?

Windswept trees delight me.  Their shapes are in direct response to the forces put on them. The bent and leaning growth patterns are a metaphor for human life experiences.  Phrases such as “bent but not broken” and “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” reflect my fascination with the windswept phenomenon. Compositionally, trees like this are visually exciting and offer opportunities to surprise viewers. 


Robert Marchessault, Windswept. Oil and Acrylic on Panel, 30 x 72 inches


4. Can you talk about your process—do you work from sketches, photographs, memory, or some fusion of sources?

My paintings are mostly spontaneously generated without reference to photos. Sometimes I’ll remember a specific tree or landscape that moved me.  Other times, I try to reach inside and feel the movement of tree energies and then express these with rapid application of paint in a mark and respond method.  Once I am happy with the initial gestural elements I start to refine and adjust the composition.  I use intuition and a personal sense of proportions to work towards an image that, when successful, “feels” right and echoes my original experiences.

5. Your artist statement mentions “the energy that flows up and through a tree is like music.” Do you find inspiration in sound or rhythm when you paint?

I usually listen to music while painting, typically jazz or music with good beats and exciting solos that create moods that amplify my emotional state.  I like to harness music to my creative process. I see parallels between musical performances and the making of my paintings.  I also play guitar and have since I was a child; I can feel the way a musical phrase is like a drawn line.  Tone and harmonics are like colours. I think making music and paintings comes from the same place inside me.

Robert Marchessault, Intreccio. Oil and Acrylic on Panel, 40 x 40 inches


6. You draw a parallel between the life journey of a tree and that of a human being. Do you find yourself projecting personal emotions or experiences into the form of the tree, or do they emerge more organically?

The trees I paint are not really linked specifically to my own life journey. I’m more like a writer who invents compelling stories. I want the viewer to believe the “story” is real and relate to it.

 
7. Your work carries a quietude and focus that feels almost meditative. How do you think your practice speaks to the pace and complexity of contemporary life?

I’m not specifically trying to comment on the complexity of contemporary life. I think the paintings reflect the lifestyle I have set up for myself at home and in my studio. I have chosen to live in the country since leaving downtown Toronto in the mid 80s. I have planted many trees and I maintain gardens on the property. I like spending time getting dirty and sweaty with plants. It’s been important to surround myself with beauty and nature both inside and outside. When I step away from the gardens and into the studio I try to bring those sensations with me. I’m pretty sure the paintings resonate to this way of working.