Make way for magic! Les Automatistes and Automatic Painting in Alberta 2026

In their 1948 manifesto, ‘Les Automatistes’ proclaimed: “Make way for magic! Make way for objective enigmas! Make way for love! Make way for what is needed!” This group of Montreal artists was inspired by the European surrealist movement and were pushing back against Catholicism and conservativism in Quebec. ‘Les Automatistes’ saw surrealism as not just an artform but a way to navigate every aspect of their lives. They advocated for spontaneous art making that tapped into an intuitive randomness to create unexpected accidents. Their works embrace play and chance, and they aimed not to consciously make representational work but embrace non-figurative gestures. In the west, Marion Nicoll and J.W.G. Macdonald were also interested in exploring automatic ways of art making. In the early 1940s, Macdonald was heavily influenced by European surrealists in Vancouver who inspired him to work preconsciously and subconsciously to make abstract art. In Alberta, he shared this way of working with Marion Nicoll and both began using automatic painting as a way to eschew their own conscious intentions and connect to a collective consciousness. When automatic drawing or painting, an artist allows their hand to move across the page or canvas without rational thought and without deliberately trying to represent any real-world object. Automatic drawing and painting can be a spiritual practice for an artist to connect with something beyond the confines of their own experience, or as a playful way to warm up before creating more intentional works. Organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta. Curated by Lindsey Sharman.