Tribute to Riopelle: the exhibition “In the footsteps of the Automatists”

UPDATE DAY

The exhibition In the footsteps of the Automatists, in homage to Jean Paul Riopelle, will be presented from June 22 to August 13 at the Maison de la culture du Plateau-Mont-Royal, in Montreal. 

This free event will be offered to the curious as part of the centenary of the famous painter , engraver and sculptor born October 7, 1923, in Montreal, and died March 12, 2002, in Saint-Antoine-de-l'Isle-aux-Grues, in Chaudière-Appalaches.

A work by Riopelle and another by Françoise Sullivan will be loaned by private collectors. The Simon Blais gallery will do the same by lending a work by each of the two artists.

Three recipients of the Paul-Émile-Borduas Prize will participate in the exhibition, namely André Fournelle, Françoise Sullivan and Armand Vaillancourt. People will also be able to admire sculptures, paintings and installations by Bob Desautels, Pierrot Gaudreau, Mathieu Laca, Bertrand Lavoie, Michel Pedneault and Julie Robinson, who is the curator of the exhibition. 

La mise in narrative and in context will be made by the poet Claudine Bertrand. 

“Riopelle, this modern-day nomad, a flamboyant tornado, took part in a veritable artistic revolution, bathed in surrealist and automatist currents. He navigated between these two major movements that tipped history and radically changed 20th century art. Without [not] being subjected to one or the other, he set them ablaze and merged them into a daring mix. From Europe to America, dismissing censorship and all conservative values, he cleared the field of possibilities. Following in the footsteps of Riopelle, an emblematic figure, the artists exhibiting here carry a libertarian, non-conformist spirit. In turn, galvanized by a contagious ardor, they project an energizing force off the beaten path,” said Ms. Bertrand, Thursday, in a press release.

Open to the public, the vernissage will be held on Thursday 22 June, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The exhibition will then be accessible free of charge in the main hall of the Maison de la culture (465, avenue du Mont-Royal Est) from Tuesday to Thursday, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., and from Friday to Sunday, from 1 p.m. at 5 p.m.

Remember that last year Marc Séguin unveiled a huge mural tribute to Riopelle at the intersection of Milton and University streets, on the western edge of the Plateau, showing that the borough is a fervent of the work of this immense artist.