After years of paintings laden with collage, Strauss Bourque-LaFrance has recently employed collage techniques without actual applique – marks mimic cutouts, shapes formed through masking and erasure. Avoiding typical brushes, LaFrance creates a “reasoning for the shapes within the picture.” Foam pads, mop heads, rags, squeegees, masonry brushes, canvas cuttings all provide techniques that relate to sculpture, craft practices, textiles, and printmaking.
Strauss Bourque-LaFrance (b. 1983, Poland Spring, ME) earned a BA from Hampshire College, Amherst, MA; an MFA from Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA; and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME. Bourque-LaFrance has had solo exhibitions at Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York; T29, Rome, Italy; Exo Exo, Paris; and the Northampton Center for the Arts, Northampton, MA. He has been included in exhibitions at the Crisp-Ellert Museum, St. Augustine, FL; The Kitchen, New York, NY; The Clifford Gallery at Colgate University, Hamilton, NY; ICA Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA; The Contemporary Austin, Austin, TX; Abrons Art Center, New York, NY; The Judson Memorial Church, New York, NY; and Sculpture Center, New York, NY; among many others. Bourque- LaFrance currently lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.