Leo Fournier. Sculptor. Woodcarver, Laprairie, Quebec.

Leo Fournier. Sculptor. Laprairie, Quebec. (Born: Saint-Mathias) Active 1960’s to 2004.

Leo Fournier worked and lived in Laprairie, Quebec on Montreal’s South Shore. He was a ‘body man’ and used putty a lot (‘shaping’ cars often led to ‘shaping’ carvings, I have noticed). He began sculpting in the 1960’s when he became involved in the scrap business after Expo ’67. He told me that any one with a pick-up truck could haul away scrap; so…he and a few of his pals got into the scrap business. He started using things that were too good to scrap or waste. Especially wood.

Leo Fournier played with words in his art and ‘playful’ is where his sculptures begin and end. From his ‘Bronzes’ (those carvings that he colored bronze for Museum shows) to the nude woman standing behind the middle-aged whiskered gent – his wit was in charge and on display.

He loved to have company in his sun porch and anybody could turn up; from Nettie Sharpe to the opinionated college professor. And they would talk art and other things. Leo’s trip to Leningrad where he spent two weeks at The Hermitage to see where it all began. (That’s a whole ‘nother story’ as they say.) Family controversies would break out. One was about Leo’s very first carving….was it this one….or that one….Leo left the room and returned with his very first work in wood-carving….and the discussion was over (There is an image of it below).

Ah well. Leo made many sculptures in his career. He would carve a Crow, and an Elephant; and make a carving with an Elephant on a curved table top and balanced on a man’s stomach. And he carved Bishops on thrones and piles of people (these sometimes puzzled even him). And he had a fondness for Crucifixes; he returned to the subject often. Each carving was made as full of color as was appropriate.

Leo Fournier and The Rooster. (Being re-colored here-but that’s another story) This was his largest Rooster. It was made from materials scrapped and salvaged by Leo in 1967 after the Expo.: