Jean Paul Riopelle (1923 - 2002)

Coinciding with Riopelle: Crossroads in Time, the current National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives exhibition celebrates the centenary of Jean Paul Riopelle’s birth through a selection of rare catalogues, photographs, posters and prints.

Born and raised in Montreal in 1923, Riopelle is one of only a few Canadian artists to receive international acclaim, an accomplishment reflected in the thirty-seven items featured in the exhibition. Among the many highlights are the original edition of Refus global, which served as the manifesto of a group of Montreal artists known as the Automatistes; photographs showing works by Riopelle at the 1954 Venice Biennale; the catalogue for Riopelle’s first solo exhibition in the United States, held at the Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York City in 1954; and three catalogues for Riopelle exhibitions at the Galerie Maeght, Paris, in 1968, 1976 and 1978.