Jean-Paul Riopelle

Collections
Selected works from 1900 to 2000

Jean-Paul Riopelle
Montréal (Québec, Canada), 1923 – L'Isle-aux-Grues (Québec, Canada), 2002
Training

Took drawing lessons between 1933 and 1938.
Studied at the École Polytechnique de Montréal for two years.
Attended the École du Meuble in 1942 and from 1944 to 1946. Was taught by Paul-Émile Borduas.
Took architecture courses by correspondence.

Artistic production

Experimented with the spontaneity of automatic writing under the influence of Paul-Émile Borduas in the 1940s.
Was briefly part of the Surrealist movement in Paris in the late 1940s.
Gradually moved away from these two artistic currents in the 1950s to explore a means of expression that would become his: lyrical abstraction.
Is known mainly for his large-size mosaics from the 1950s—brightly coloured canvases painted using a knife.
Experimented with various means of expression, including painting, pastel, sculpture, printmaking, collage and mixed techniques.
In the 1990s, used spray paint and stencilling. L’Hommage à Rosa Luxemburg is the best example of this work.

Alongside his artistic career

From 1945 to 1950, belonged to the Automatistes group revolving around Paul-Émile Borduas.
Co-signed the Refus global, a manifesto drafted by Paul-Émile Borduas and published in 1948.
His artistic career was marked by travels, which provided inspiration.
Participated in many exhibitions the world over.

Of note

In 1968, received an honorary doctorate from McGill University.
Is, no doubt, the Québec painter who is best known internationally.
In 1981, received the Paul-Émile-Borduas award. Was the first signatory of the Refus global manifesto to receive this prestigious tribute.

Features

Left Québec for the first time in 1946 aboard a cargo ship carrying horses.
Developed a passion for cars, which he collected as of the 1950s.
Loved hunting.
Frequented numerous important artists and writers, including André Breton, Max Ernst, Franz Kline, Aimé Césaire, Antonin Artaud and Samuel Beckett.