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Riopelle
is considered to be the artist who put Canadian abstract
art on the world map, and received numerous
international honours for his works. He was inducted
into the Order of Canada in 1969 and was given a spot on
the Canadian Walk of Fame in 2000.
Born
in Montreal in 1923, Riopelle studied at the Ecole des
Beaux-arts in Montreal in 1943. He first came to
prominence as a member of the Automatistes, a
group of progressive writers and artists in Quebec, who
rebelled against the academic and social constraints of
the time. The group helped push Quebec into the 1960s
Quiet Revolution.
Riopelle
refused to identify stylistically with any one group,
choosing instead to experiment with expression through
medium and colour, and sought to subjugate the image to
the medium.
He
worked in various media, inclusing sculpture and
engraving but it is his paintings that will be best
remebered. His characteristic abstract works often
consisted of thick paint applied with a palette knife.
After
the Second World War, Riopelle went to Paris to study,
and decided to take up permanent residence there. He
regularly returned to Canada though, receiving
inspiration from his Canadian roots.
By
the 1950s, Riopelle had gained an international
reputation, winning many awards, including the
Guggenheim International Prize in 1958, and the UNESCO
prize in 1962.
In 1963, the National Gallery of
Canada organized a major exhibition of his abstract
works and in 1967, the Musee de Quebec presented a
retrospective of his work. He eventually moved back to
Canada in the 1990s.
Riopelle died at his home
near Quebec City in 2002.
He was 78 years old.
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