The exhibition In the footsteps of the automatistsin honor of 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 meeting is offered to those who are curious as part of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the famous painter, engraver and sculptor born in Montreal on October 7, 1923 and died in Saint-Antoine-de-l’Isleaux on March 12, 2002 -Grues, in Chaudière-Appalaches.
A work by Riopelle and another by Françoise Sullivan are on loan from private collectors. The Simon Blais Gallery will do the same, lending one work each to the two artists.
Three winners of the Paul Émile Borduas Prize will take part in the exhibition, namely André Fournelle, Françoise Sullivan and Armand Vaillancourt. Also on display are sculptures, paintings and installations by Bob Desautels, Pierrot Gaudreau, Mathieu Laca, Bertrand Lavoie, Michel Pedneault and Julie Robinson, the exhibition curator.
The poet Claudine Bertrand is responsible for the narration and contextualisation.
“Riopelle, this modern nomad, a flamboyant tornado, was part of a true artistic revolution, permeated by surrealist and automatist currents. He moved between these two major currents that turned history upside down and radically changed 20th-century art. Without [n’]In order not to submit to either one or the other, he set them on fire and merged them into a daring hybrid. From Europe to America, he rejected censorship and all conservative values and cleared the field of all possibilities. The artists exhibiting here follow in the footsteps of Riopelle, a symbolic figure, and carry a libertarian, anti-conformist spirit. In return, they exude an off-the-beaten-path invigorating power, driven by an infectious enthusiasm,” Ms Bertrand said in a press release on Thursday.
The vernissage is open to the public and will take place on Thursday, June 22, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The exhibition will then be accessible free of charge in the main room 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 paying homage to Riopelle at the intersection of Milton and University streets on the western edge of the plateau, showing that the district is a fan of the great artist’s work.