Jean-Paul RIOPELLE (1923-2002), after - Lot 129

Jean-Paul RIOPELLE (1923-2002), after Les Mouches à marier n°7, 1985 Etching on wove paper signed in pencil lower right and numbered 17/75 lower left 50 x 66.3 cm Framed BIBLIOGRAPHY Yseult Riopelle, Jean-Paul Riopelle , Catalogue raisonné des estampes, Hibou éditeurs, Montréal, 2005, p.327, reproduced in color as 1985,31EST.GR.ALB NOTICE Jean-Paul Riopelle (1923-2002) was one of the most influential Canadian artists of the 20th century, known for his abstract paintings and sculptures, as well as for his innovative techniques. A member of the Automatistes group at the start of his career, he was profoundly influenced by Surrealism and Automatism, a movement that advocated spontaneous creation freed from all rationality. This approach led him to develop a unique style characterized by a gestural, instinctive application of paint, particularly with the spatula, a technique that would become his signature. His works are characterized by dynamic compositions, intense color and dense, complex texture. Riopelle moved to Paris in the 1940s, where he immersed himself in the European art scene and befriended key figures in modern art, including Henri Matisse, Georges Mathieu and Joan Mitchell, with whom he developed a strong personal and artistic relationship. Close to the ideas of the Tachist movement and lyrical abstraction, he explores the materiality of paint in thick, worked layers, creating canvases that seem almost sculptural. Unlike the more geometric expressions of some of his contemporaries, Riopelle favors controlled chaos and the energy of gesture, his canvases evoking emotional landscapes rather than defined forms. Throughout his career, Riopelle pushed the boundaries of abstract painting. In the 1960s and 1970s, he diversified his means of expression, also working in bronze sculpture, in which he continued his exploration of organic forms and texture. One of his most famous monumental works is L'Hommage à Rosa Luxemburg (1992), a gigantic fresco created in memory of the communist activist. Comprising 30 panels and blending abstraction and symbolism, it marks an introspective turning point in his work. Compared to artists such as Jackson Pollock, whose gestural approach is similar to his own, or Pierre Soulages, who, like Riopelle, explores the subtle nuances and raw energy of pictorial matter, Riopelle is distinguished by a particular sensitivity to nature, which he sees as an inexhaustible source of shapes and colors. His work, which oscillates between chaos and order, has left its mark on modern art with its boldness and expressive power. Today, Jean-Paul Riopelle's works continue to be exhibited in the world's leading museums, and his legacy as a pioneer of gestural abstraction remains an essential reference point in the history of modern art.