Jean - Paul Riopelle | New Collection

Jean-Paul Riopelle (Canadian, 1923–2002) was a key figure in European Abstract Expressionism. Born in Montreal, he studied both traditional and avant-garde painting before fully embracing abstraction in the late 1940s.

 

He joined Les Automatistes, influenced by Surrealism, and moved to Paris in 1949, becoming part of Europe’s “second generation” of Abstract Expressionists. In the 1950s, Riopelle developed his signature “mosaic” technique, applying paint in thick, colorful blocks with a palette knife. His work evolved over time, incorporating printmaking, collage, and sculpture.

 

Notably, his 1969 fountain honoring Canadian hockey players stands at Montréal’s Olympic Stadium. Riopelle frequently returned to Canada, drawing inspiration from its landscapes. A Venice Biennale exhibitor and UNESCO Prize winner (1962), his work has been honored with major retrospectives at the Centre Pompidou and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. He spent his later years in Île-aux-Grues, Quebec, passing away in 2002 at the age of 79.

Jean-Paul Riopelle | Parler de corde

“Ayarak” is an Inuit term that describes something universal: the string. More precisely, it describes a string used in a game that has been played for generations amongst indigenous populations in Canada. In this game you tie a knot at both ends to create a loop. You, then, slide the string between your fingers and around your hands, sometimes with help from your teeth or a friend, to create interesting shapes and geometric patterns.

 

The Inuit call these shapes “Ayarauseq.” They are made to represent a variety of things including: seals, whales, caribou, seagulls, tents, lamps, a crawling hunter and a man with wide eyes. These shapes are words.

 

I imagine that, on both sides, one will look with nostalgia at these string combinations, invented in the Arctic Circle: rigorous, repeatable and transmissible like theorems. These are the ties that bring together the polar bear and the crow.