![[VIDÉO] LPHF: Like Cole Caufield, Ann-Renée Desbiens has her own unique shoes](https://m1.quebecormedia.com/emp/emp/63411_07894593662cf2-8a9e-4bd6-aa34-c999d634a876_ORIGINAL.jpg?impolicy=crop-resize&x=0&y=291&w=3492&h=1966&width=1200)
Jean-Paul Riopelle. This name alone conjures an entire era in the history of Quebec and Canadian art. It is also synonymous with the timelessness of art, movement, and artistic freedom, without any compromises.
Today, Riopelle would be 100 years old. A century after his birth, his works continue to inspire entire generations of artists around the world.
Today, Riopelle is one of Canadian art’s greatest ambassadors internationally. His works span six continents, showcasing local talent like never before.
The message of Riopelle’s work has transcended the ages. This profound reverence for nature, its animals, its plants, and its vast Canadian landscape; This insatiable desire for creativity, this thirst for freedom. At a time when the planet is mourning an entire civilization’s neglect of the environment, driven by the damage of climate change, the values and vision that Riopelle conveyed through his art are more important than ever.
Photo by Pierre McCann, Press Archive
Painter Jean-Paul Riopelle with hockey player Maurice Richard, in March 1990
But before he became a world-famous painter, sculptor, and engraver, Riopelle was primarily a local man rooted in his native country.
Born on the Mont-Royal plateau, in the heart of Montreal, little Jean-Paul developed an interest in nature and indigenous cultures at a very early age. Feelings that would follow him throughout his life.
As for abstraction, Riopelle claimed that it does not extract from nature, but rather moves towards it. From snow geese to owls, including the icebergs of the Far North and even the maple leaves he brought from Quebec to France, where he spent nearly 40 years of his life, the fauna and flora of Quebec and Canada will always be present everywhere in the world. The artist worked as an inexhaustible source of energy and creative enthusiasm. It may have been a fulcrum that may have allowed him, even after spending nearly half his life internationally, to maintain a connection with the Canada that saw him grow.
Photo by Olivier Pontrian, Press Archive
L’Isle-aux-Grues is located in the heart of St. Lawrence, where Riopelle spent most of the last decade of his life.
Riopelle chose to spend the last decade of her life in Quebec, between Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson, in the Laurentians, and the L’Ile aux Gros archipelago, located in the heart of Sainte-Marguerite. Laurent. Here he created, in the twilight of his life, his monumental guardian work Tribute to Rosa Luxemburg. This emblematic masterpiece, on display at the Musée National des Beaux-Arts de Quebec (MNBAQ), will be the highlight of a visit to the futuristic Espace Riopelle, which is scheduled to open in the spring of 2026. Created thanks to the partnership between the Government of Quebec, MNBAQ and the Riopelle Foundation, this new museum wing Dedicated entirely to the artist, a major legacy of the centenary celebrations, it will host the largest public collection of Riopelle’s works in the world.
Celebrating Riopel means celebrating local culture and talent. It is a proud tribute to the success of a visual artist who, from his native Quebec via France and the United States, has managed to occupy a place among the greatest names in the history of art.
Photo by François Roy, Press Archive
Copies of the Universal Rejection are preserved by the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.
Riopelle’s influence is not limited to the world of culture; It is also political and social. He participated in signing the historic statement in 1948 Total rejection, along with other prominent figures of Quebec culture such as Paul-Emile Borduas, but also Madeleine Arbor and Françoise Sullivan – whose centenary of birth was also celebrated this year – Riopelle, thirsting for freedom, was among the first who had the courage and audacity to publicly question the doctrines of the Great Darkness. . Meaning, Total rejection In some ways it was the spark that led, a few years later, to the Quiet Revolution and the birth of modern Quebec. 75 years after the issuance of this pivotal text in our history, its reverberations are still heard.
For all these reasons, a veritable constellation of Quebec’s most prestigious cultural and public institutions has joined forces this year to celebrate the centenary of Jean-Paul Riopelle. From classical music to theatre, including film, gastronomy, literature, poetry, education, urban and indigenous art, a host of celebrated partners have joined forces with the Riopelle Foundation to make this year of celebration a resounding success, both coast to coast and around the world. Atlantic Ocean. Thanks to them, and to the thousands of artists, teachers, students, visitors, spectators, festival-goers and art lovers who participate in these celebrations – the most important of all for a Canadian visual artist – a century after his birth, Riopelle is more vibrant than ever!
Therefore, today we celebrate with joy and pride 100 years of vision and inspiration.
Celebrate with us!
“Amateur entrepreneur. Professional internet expert. Zombie maven. Incurable pop culture scholar.”
