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David Cantine Art

Canadian, b. 1939
David Cantine (b. 1939, Jackson, Michigan) is a senior Canadian painter whose remarkable career has been defined by a sustained investigation of colour, structure, and the still life. For more than five decades, he has returned to a highly recognizable composition of circular forms, using a deliberately limited structure to explore the seemingly infinite relationships that can be created through colour. Cantine’s signature imagery evolved from a traditional still life of two apples and their shadows. Over time, the objects were progressively simplified until they became pairs of coloured discs arranged within a geometric field. What began as representation developed into a distinctive visual language that exists between still life and abstraction. Cantine has described his central concern as the use of “structural colour instead of descriptive colour,” allowing colour itself to create space, tension, balance, and visual depth. His influences include Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, and Giorgio Morandi. Cantine studied at the University of Iowa, receiving his BA in 1962 and MA in 1964. He moved to Edmonton shortly afterward and joined the Department of Art and Design at the University of Alberta in 1965, where he taught until 1996 and is now Professor Emeritus. Over a career spanning six decades, Cantine has exhibited extensively in Canada and the United States, including solo exhibitions in Edmonton, Toronto, New York, and Louisiana, as well as presentations at the Art Gallery of Alberta and the Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art. His work is held in numerous public, corporate, and private collections, including the Art Gallery of Alberta, Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, University of Alberta, Masur Museum of Art, and Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
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Purple Still Life 1 - Abstract Painting on Plexiglass, Circa 2000
Purple Still Life 1 - Abstract Painting on Plexiglass, Circa 2000

Purple Still Life 1 - Abstract Painting on Plexiglass, Circa 2000

By David Cantine

Located in Bloomfield, ON

This abstract minimalist still life painting by David Cantine is a representation of apples. For decades, Canadian artist David Cantine has experimented with painting variations of ...

Category

Early 2000s Abstract David Cantine Art

Materials

Plexiglass, Acrylic

Mellow Still Life 2 - Abstract Painting on Plexiglass, 1990s, Signed
Mellow Still Life 2 - Abstract Painting on Plexiglass, 1990s, Signed

Mellow Still Life 2 - Abstract Painting on Plexiglass, 1990s, Signed

By David Cantine

Located in Bloomfield, ON

This abstract minimalist still life painting by David Cantine is a representation of apples. For decades, Canadian artist David Cantine has experimented with painting variations of t...

Category

1990s Abstract David Cantine Art

Materials

Plexiglass, Acrylic

Still Life Yellow - Abstract Minimalist Painting on Plexiglass, 17.5 in
Still Life Yellow - Abstract Minimalist Painting on Plexiglass, 17.5 in

Still Life Yellow - Abstract Minimalist Painting on Plexiglass, 17.5 in

By David Cantine

Located in Bloomfield, ON

This abstract minimalist still life painting by David Cantine is a representation of apples. For decades, Canadian artist David Cantine has experimented with painting variations of t...

Category

Early 2000s Abstract David Cantine Art

Materials

Plexiglass, Acrylic

Gray and Still Life - small, bright, geometric minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass
Gray and Still Life - small, bright, geometric minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass

Gray and Still Life - small, bright, geometric minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass

By David Cantine

Located in Bloomfield, ON

Four precisely configured and stacked circles form a contemplative pyramid at the foot of a square neutral ground. The areas between the shapes in this minimalist still life acrylic ...

Category

Early 2000s Minimalist David Cantine Art

Materials

Plexiglass, Acrylic

Gray-Green Still Life 2 - small, minimalist, abstract, acrylic on plexiglass
Gray-Green Still Life 2 - small, minimalist, abstract, acrylic on plexiglass

Gray-Green Still Life 2 - small, minimalist, abstract, acrylic on plexiglass

By David Cantine

Located in Bloomfield, ON

Four precisely configured and stacked circles form a contemplative pyramid at the foot of a square neutral ground. The areas between the shapes in this minimalist still life acrylic ...

Category

Early 2000s Minimalist David Cantine Art

Materials

Plexiglass, Acrylic

Gray Still Life with Purples - small, bright, minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass
Gray Still Life with Purples - small, bright, minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass

Gray Still Life with Purples - small, bright, minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass

By David Cantine

Located in Bloomfield, ON

Abstract geometric and graphic work from Cantine's famous abstracted still life of apples series. Framed dimensions for this painting are 27 x 27 inches. David Cantine studied at th...

Category

Early 2000s Contemporary David Cantine Art

Materials

Plexiglass, Acrylic

Purple Still LIfe 3 - bright, geometric minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass
Purple Still LIfe 3 - bright, geometric minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass

Purple Still LIfe 3 - bright, geometric minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass

By David Cantine

Located in Bloomfield, ON

Four precisely configured and circlesin rose, mauve, camel, and dark plum form a contemplative pyramid at the foot of a square light gray ground. The areas between the shapes in this...

Category

Early 2000s Contemporary David Cantine Art

Materials

Plexiglass, Acrylic

Purple Still LIfe 1 - bright, geometric minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass
Purple Still LIfe 1 - bright, geometric minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass

Purple Still LIfe 1 - bright, geometric minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass

By David Cantine

Located in Bloomfield, ON

Four circles form pyramid at the foot of a light blush ground in this contemplative painting by David Cantine. The areas between the shapes in this minimalist still life acrylic on p...

Category

Early 2000s Contemporary David Cantine Art

Materials

Plexiglass, Acrylic

Still Life Maroon and Green - bright, abstract minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass
Still Life Maroon and Green - bright, abstract minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass

Still Life Maroon and Green - bright, abstract minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass

By David Cantine

Located in Bloomfield, ON

Curated circles in pale green, gold, black and toned maroon are precisely and contemplatively arranged on a light dove grey ground. The areas between the shapes in this square minima...

Category

Early 2000s Abstract Geometric David Cantine Art

Materials

Plexiglass, Acrylic

Things With Tops - small, orange, minimalist, still life on plexiglass
Things With Tops - small, orange, minimalist, still life on plexiglass

Things With Tops - small, orange, minimalist, still life on plexiglass

By David Cantine

Located in Bloomfield, ON

Two rectangular shapes one in painterly brown the other in dark navy are topped with white and beige. These enigmatic and humorously titled "things with tops" are contrasting outcrop...

Category

2010s Abstract Geometric David Cantine Art

Materials

Plexiglass, Acrylic

Still Life Green No 1 - bright, geometric minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass
Still Life Green No 1 - bright, geometric minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass

Still Life Green No 1 - bright, geometric minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass

By David Cantine

Located in Bloomfield, ON

Four precisely configured and stacked circles form a contemplative pyramid at the foot of a square white ground. The areas between the shapes in this minimalist still life acrylic on...

Category

Early 2000s Post-Minimalist David Cantine Art

Materials

Plexiglass, Acrylic

Still Life Blue - bright, geometric abstract, minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass
Still Life Blue - bright, geometric abstract, minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass

Still Life Blue - bright, geometric abstract, minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass

By David Cantine

Located in Bloomfield, ON

Four precisely configured and painted circles form a contemplative pyramid at the foot of a neutral ground. The areas between the shapes in this minimalist still life acrylic on plex...

Category

Early 2000s Post-Minimalist David Cantine Art

Materials

Plexiglass, Acrylic

Snow White No. 2 - bright, geometric abstract, minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass
Snow White No. 2 - bright, geometric abstract, minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass

Snow White No. 2 - bright, geometric abstract, minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass

By David Cantine

Located in Bloomfield, ON

Four precisely configured and stacked circles in rust-brown, black, light brown and sand form a contemplative whole at the foot of a square snow white ground. The areas between the s...

Category

1990s Abstract Geometric David Cantine Art

Materials

Plexiglass, Acrylic

Red and Orange #1 - bright, abstract, minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass
Red and Orange #1 - bright, abstract, minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass

Red and Orange #1 - bright, abstract, minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass

By David Cantine

Located in Bloomfield, ON

Curated circles of silver, black, tangerine orange, and cherry red define the dove grey ground of this square minimalist acrylic painting on plexiglass. The areas between the shapes are completed with custard yellow and maroon. This work comes framed. Framed dimensions are approximately 20.5 x 20.5 inches. Cantine's work is a poetic and intellectual exploration of a pictorial problem, color as structure which has infinite variations. Cantine was quoted in the Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art 2000: "For the past 26 years, I have painted essentially the same still life, which began as a pair of apples and its shadow, and evolved under pressure of color into the present imagery." Cantine may be referred to as a post-minimalist, a term coined by Robert Pincus-Witten in 1971 to describe work with a minimalist tendency but that uses modest materials and aims towards a pure formalist aesthetic. David Cantine is a senior Canadian painter who has been exploring the still life for many years. Cantine was born in Jackson...

Category

1990s Abstract Geometric David Cantine Art

Materials

Plexiglass, Acrylic

Still Life in Gray - bright, abstract, post-minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass
Still Life in Gray - bright, abstract, post-minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass

Still Life in Gray - bright, abstract, post-minimalist, acrylic on plexiglass

By David Cantine

Located in Bloomfield, ON

Four precise circular shapes in red, gold, black and light brown form a contemplative whole at the foot of a square dove gray ground. The areas between the shapes in this minimalist ...

Category

Early 2000s Abstract Geometric David Cantine Art

Materials

Plexiglass, Acrylic

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Previously Available Items
Blue Still Life No. 2
Blue Still Life No. 2

Blue Still Life No. 2

By David Cantine

Located in Bloomfield, ON

Curated circles in indigo, black, cerise and gold are precisely and contemplatively arranged at the foot of a square, white ground. The areas between the shapes in this minimalist ac...

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Blue Still Life
Blue Still Life

David CantineBlue Still Life, 2006

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H 17.5 in W 17.5 in

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Four precisely configured and stacked circles in grey, pale yellow, navy and cerulean blue form a contemplative whole at the foot of a square blue-grey ground. The areas between the ...

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Still Life- Primaries and Gray

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David Cantine art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic David Cantine art available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of orange, blue and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by David Cantine in acrylic paint, paint, synthetic resin paint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large David Cantine art, so small editions measuring 10 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Charlie Edmiston, Irene Zweig, and Brandon Neher. David Cantine art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,450 and tops out at $4,800, while the average work can sell for $4,300.

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