Biography

Always interested in art and design, Steve Fortier grew up in Ottawa and attended the Ontario College of Art in Toronto. He worked in graphic design for thirty-five years but always continued to paint in both watercolour and acrylic, taking inspiration from the landscape around him. After moving to Vancouver in 1995, he was finally able to paint full time and began exploring in earnest the different ways of painterly expression, from landscape to high realism. Not only is an interest in form and colour carried consistently through these paintings but as also a sensitivity to the power and impact of monumental canvases.

His current fascination with hard edged geometric abstraction has produced both pixilated and purely non-representational paintings. Pixilating his subject matter strips away all identifying detail to reveal fundamental segments of pure, shimmering color. The subject, often a landscape, is sensed rather than seen. In the nonrepresentational works the experience is wholly sensory, the interpretation given wholly to the viewer. Fortier uses a digital process and a plotter to assist in the complex masking and taping process involved with every colour in his paintings; this merging of technology, exactitude, and intuition, is the magic of these paintings.

Exhibitions

2020  –  Exhibition 1010, 2 artist show, Ian Tan Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2019  –  Free/Form, 2 artist show, Artworks Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2017  –  Five Vancouver Artists, 5 artist show, Artworks Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1998 - 2016  –  Group shows, Artworks Gallery, Vancouver, BC

1999 - 2000 – Art For Life, Vancouver, BC

1999 – Memorial AIDS Project – “Images of Life” one of four BC artists selected 
1979-1980-1981  –  Group Exhibitions, Whipperwill Gallery, Constance Bay, Ontario
1978-1979-1980  –  Group Exhibitions, Torbolton Oaks Gallery, McLaren’s Landing, Ontario

Works held in corporate and private collections in Canada and the United States.