Jean-Paul Riopelle

Jean-Paul Riopelle (Montreal, 1923 – Île-aux-Grues, 2002) was one of the most significant Canadian artists of the 20th century and a key figure in international gestural abstraction. Initially associated with the Automatist movement and later aligned with Abstract Expressionism, Riopelle developed a powerful, highly tactile, and deeply personal painterly language.

After moving to Paris in the late 1940s, he became part of the European avant-garde, engaging with artists such as André Breton, Joan Miró, and Sam Francis, and quickly gaining international recognition. His painting is characterized by dynamic applications of color - often using a palette knife - to build dense, energetic surfaces that evoke landscape, nature, and memory without direct representation.

Riopelle’s works are held in major international collections, including the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Today, he is widely regarded as a major voice of postwar abstraction and a pivotal figure in the artistic exchange between Europe and North America.