New Quebec museum pavilion celebrates Jean Paul Riopelle

In Quebec City, the Musée National des Beaux-Arts opened the Espace Riopelle-Michael Audain Pavilion this week to honour Jean Paul Riopelle, a Canadian artist known for his abstract expressionism.

The new $61-million gallery, named for Riopelle and philanthropist Michael Audain, houses the world’s largest public collection of Riopelle’s work, with over 130 pieces on display.

Riopelle, born in Montreal in 1923, gained international recognition as a member of the Automatistes, a Quebecois artistic movement that embraced automatism, creating art without conscious thought, and published the radical manifesto Le Refus Global in 1948. He developed a distinctive “mosaic” style, applying paint directly from the tube with a palette knife. The pavilion features four inaugural exhibitions, including a permanent retrospective, “Riopelle: The Expression of Gesture,” which traces his 50-year career through seven themes.

Visitors can also view works by other Quebecois modern artists, participate in an interactive exhibition exploring emotional responses to Riopelle’s art, and see his monumental 130-foot-long Tribute to Rosa Luxemburg, created after the death of his partner, Joan Mitchell, who was also a figure skater.