A native of Canada but living in Massachusetts, Norman Laliberte has been a working artist for more than six decades. His work is whimsical, lively and bright with messages of love and awareness for natural history.
Laliberte will make his first trip to the Wood River Valley to attend Gallery Walk in Ketchum for his show, "Laliberte—60 Years of Joyful Creation," at Gallery DeNovo.
"His work has been inspired by his travels," said Gallery DeNovo owner Robin Reiners. "It includes nature in America, a totem series, birds and phoenixes."
Reiners said Laliberte carves into his paintings and uses lots of symbolism and numeral patterns.
"He uses bright pinks and oranges," Reiners said. "His insect series are full of texture, collages and painting. It's very joyful."
Gallery DeNovo's retrospective on Laliberte's work features paintings on burlap, tar paper and wooden boards, and hand-painted books and collages. Laliberte's work has been included in over 150 exhibitions around the world. He was a design consultant for the Vatican pavilion at the 1964 World's Fair in New York City. Commissioned public works include those at The Field Museum in Chicago and Logan Airport in Boston and for the city of Boston's 350th anniversary. His work has been collected by more than 100 museums and corporations, including the Smithsonian Institution, Nelson A. Rockfeller Collection, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and numerous private collections.
"He has such style," Reiners said. "He has had five retrospectives on his work. We will have a sponsored private reception for him, which is the first time that has happened at Gallery DeNovo."
Gallery Walk will take place in central Ketchum tonight from 5-8 p.m.
Sabina Dana Plasse: splasse@mtexpress.com
“The Idealist and the Realist” by Norman Laliberte. Acrylic on burlap at Gallery DeNovo.
