Montreal, Quebec
Member of the Automatistes.
He studied under Paul-Émile Borduas in the 1940s and was one of the signers of the Refus global manifesto (lead by Borduas). In his early 30's, Riopelle moved to Paris, France and continued his career as an artist, where he advertised himself as a "wild Canadian".
Ten years later, he began a relationship with the American painter Joan Mitchell. They lived separately and had separate art studios as well, but they influenced each other a lot even though their relationship was difficult (it mostly involved alcohol abuse). Although they officially broke up 1979, Riopelle's 1992 painting Hommage à Rosa Luxemburg is a tribute to her; proof that he loved her greatly even after all this time. That artwork is considered to be his best, probably because of the emotional journey that it represents.
Riopelle's typical style ranged from Surrealism to abstract expressionism, in which he used thick cubes of colour, applied with a palette knife, on large canvases.
ARTWORKS
Composition
Hommage à Rosa Luxemburg
