October Marks 100 Years of Riopelle
October 7th is the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of Canada's most renowned artists whose life and oeuvre have become internationally recognized. October will be marked by major Riopelle 100 celebrations across the country and around the world
The Riopelle Foundation invites you to celebrate the 100th anniversary of one of Canada's most beloved and renowned visual artists: Jean Paul Riopelle. From the Royal Canadian Mint to the National Gallery of Canada, to the renowned circus troupe The 7 Fingers, to the renaming of Jean Paul Riopelle's childhood school — celebrations surrounding the centenary of the internationally renowned Québec artist will reach a crescendo over the next month, when Riopelle would have turned 100 on October 7, 2023.
Jean Paul Riopelle was born in Montréal on October 7, 1923 and died on March 12, 2002. A fiercely experimental visual artist, he pushed the boundaries of creativity and captured the attention of the world — his artworks are included in collections spanning 18 countries and six continents. Riopelle's enduring spirit has inspired artists and arts organizations across Canada and around the world to celebrate his artistic legacy.
Never before has a Canadian artist been honoured in this way. The Riopelle 100 festivities include newly commissioned experimental works of theatre, music, performances, literature, and art exhibitions, as well as a spectacular museum pavilion opening at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec in 2026 dedicated to the artist.
Riopelle was a painter, engraver, and sculptor. From his birthplace in Montréal, to his forty-odd years spent in France, through his travels and adventures to the farthest reaches of our world, and finally his return to Québec in the last decades of his life, Riopelle's artistic and cultural legacy extends to the four corners of the world, under the admiring eye of many collectors, museum institutions and through the archives and artworks he disseminated throughout his life.
Co-signatory of two historic manifestos, Ruptures inaugurales (1947), in France, alongside Henri Pastoureau and André Breton; and Refus global (1948), with other leading figures of the Automatiste movement, Riopelle was a leading figure amongst a group of artists and thinkers demanding artistic and social freedom in Québec in the 1950s. His work, along with his colleagues, had a profound impact on Quebec, and ultimately, Canadian society and culture in the mid-20th century, transcending the boundaries of art.
Jean Paul Riopelle's creative legacy continues to inspire us. The Riopelle Foundation, along with its constellation of incredible partners, invites you to join the centenary celebrations. To see the full calendar of programs and celebrations, please visit: www.riopellefoundation.com/centenary
About the Riopelle Foundation
Conceived by Riopelle in the 1960s and founded in 2019 by a group of Canadian philanthropists, the Riopelle Foundation's mission is to celebrate and perpetuate the vision and oeuvre of Jean Paul Riopelle in Canada and around the world, to support and inspire emerging visual artists, to encourage creative exploration and experimentation, and to promote teaching and learning. The Foundation also acts as a reference and analysis centre for documentation, publication, and discourse on Riopelle's oeuvre.
Website: www.riopellefoundation.com
Facebook : facebook.com/FondationRiopelle | Twitter : @FdnJPRiopelle Instagram: @fdnriopelle | LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/fondationriopelle
SOURCE Jean Paul Riopelle Foundation
For further information: Rosemary Thompson, Artful Strategies, (613) 240-6739, rthompson@artfulstrategies.ca