Exhibited Riopelle: The Glory of Abstraction, The Glenbow Museum, Calgary, May 15 – August 2, 2010
Literature
Yseult Riopelle, Catalogue Raisonée de Jean Paul Riopelle, Vol. II, 1954-1959, cat. no. 1955.025P.1955, p. 361
In the mid 1950s, Jean Paul Riopelle explored ink and watercolour on paper repeatedly. A medium that allowed him to prepare, and work quickly and in rapid succession, he retained elements of earlier styles in these works. And always, his distinct gesture is there, in the blots of black, and frenzy of energy in their execution, connected as they are by arcing lines of whisked on in. These black elements are layered onto splattered, thinly applied stains of colour. Here, we have the primaries: red, yellow, and blue, which together with the black, create a balance and optically very appealing work. The central composition is contained within the page, framed by quieter areas at each of the edges, allowing our eye to rest and return, again and again, to the main focus of the work.
Jean Paul Riopelle was born in 1923 in Montreal, Quebec. Interested in both art and drafting from an early age, Riopelle’s artistic endeavours were originally based in Academic-style still-life and landscape works He attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts briefly before moving on to study at the École du Meuble in…
Jean Paul Riopelle was born in 1923 in Montreal, Quebec. Interested in both art and drafting from an early age, Riopelle’s artistic endeavours were originally based in Academic-style still-life and landscape works He attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts briefly before moving on to study at the École du Meuble in Montreal. At the École du Meuble, he met Paul-Émile Borduas, the leader of the Montreal Automatises, who would influence his career as an abstract painter. In 1948, Borduas, Riopelle and 14 other Quebecois artists released Le Refus global, a publication that rejected the social and artistic values that dominated Quebec society at the time. Riopelle experimented with many stylistic choices throughout his career, influenced by Surrealism, Lyrical Abstraction and Abstract Expressionism. In the late 1950s, he began a relationship with American artist Joan Mitchell and both would exhibit artistic influence over one another over the course of their respective careers. Riopelle is considered a pioneer in Canadian abstract art and was one of the first modern Canadian artists to achieve international recognition. In 1962 he was the sole artist to represent Canada at the Venice Biennale. He became a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1969, was made an Officer of the National Order of Quebec in 1988, and was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2000. Riopelle passed away in 2002 at the age of 78.
