(courtesy of the Riopelle Foundation)
The centenary of the birth of Quebec artist Jean Paul Riopelle will be marked in France with a range of celebrations starting later this year, the Riopelle Foundation announced Wednesday in Paris.
“From his first stay in Paris in the 1940s, Jean Paul Riopelle built bridges between his native land, Canada, and his adopted land, France, where he would spend nearly 40 years of his life, including some of his most prolific and influential creative periods," said Manon Gauthier, the foundation's executive director. "His work is thus a true link between the cultures of our two nations."
The events, organized in conjunction with the Riopelle Foundation, include exhibitions at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and at the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence near Nice, in the south of France, along with cultural programming on the French television network, TV5MONDE.
French curator Christian Friend is organizing the show at the Centre Pompidou, which will open in late 2023 and feature works such as Chevreuse, La Mi-été chez Georges and Mitchikanabikong.
The Fondation Maeght will present Jean Paul Riopelle - Parfums d'ateliers from July 1 to Nov. 12. Guest curated by Riopelle's daughter, Yseult, it will include more than 180 works.
Meanwhile, TV5MONDE will launch a promotional campaign and special programming about Riopelle, who died in 2002. Coverage will include interviews on the program L'invité, hosted by Patrick Simonin, as well as three one-hour programs on the weekly cultural show, 400 millions de critiques.
Various festivities are underway in Canada for the Montreal-born artist, who created nearly 7,000 works over his lifetime. An exhibition will open later this year at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, and the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec is creating a new wing dedicated to Riopelle.
Source: Riopelle Foundation