visually exceptional, The Riopelle Project by Robert Lepage is a fitting tribute to the great Quebec painter, presented at Duceppe.
With skaters on stage, incredible images of paintings and gorgeous backdrops, the creativity of Ex Machina’s founder is showcased in all its glory. Above all, the director enjoyed the form and not the content. Chronologically and pedagogically, the play is almost documentary with archival images and explanatory narratives.
This exhibition gives an important place to Refus global, the famous manifesto written by Paul-Émile Borduas in 1948 and signed by artists such as Jean Paul Riopelle, which rejects the immobility and Catholic conservatism of Quebec society.
This proposal also describes the automatism employed by the painter who triumphed in Paris before ending his life in his native Isle-aux-Oies. In the French capital he met big names in art such as André Breton and Samuel Beckett.
All of this allows us to grasp the social climate in which the Montreal native lived in order to fully understand how his work broke with the Franco-Canadian past on the road to a modern Quebec.
- Listen to Richard Martineau’s chronicle on the program by Philippe-Vincent Foisy, broadcast live daily on QUB radio :
Not flattering
Portrayed as an absent father and a rather selfish individualist, Riopelle is not treated kindly by the director. Surprisingly, this work doesn’t delve that much into his intimacy. The painter says little about what he feels, what drives him, and what inspires him, unlike the expressionist artist Joan Mitchell, his longtime American wife with whom he had a tumultuous relationship. This woman is powerfully interpreted by Anne-Marie Cadieux.
Luc Picard is brilliant as a sensitive Paul-Émile Borduas, trying to lead the way for the new generation, including Riopelle, but struggling to find his own in an oppressive Quebec. The actor also slips into Riopelle’s skin from middle age, while Gabrielle Lemire skilfully portrays her youth.
Les Violette Chauveau, Noémie O’Farrell, Richard Fréchette and the other actors also embody several characters. Given the variety of roles, accents, and language changes, with several scenes taking place in English, it’s not surprising that the acting, while remaining solid, is uneven at times.
Even if the evening lasts 4:30 with two breaks, it passes quickly because the scenes are short and built on dialogue. Despite choosing to leave the centenary’s secret garden alone, Robert Lepage uses his virtuosity to offer a history lesson that is as instructive as it is imaginative.
♦ The Riopelle Project will be shown at the Duceppe in Montreal until June 11th, then at the Le Diamant theater in Quebec from October 19th to November 19th.
The Riopelle Project ★★★★
- Directed by Robert Lepage
- With Anne-Marie Cadieux, Luc Picard, Violette Chauveau and Richard Frechette