MEDIA ADVISORY - October marks 100 years of Riopelle

October 7th is the 100^th anniversary of the birth of one of Canada's most renowned artists whose life and oeuvre have become internationally recognized. October will be marked by major Riopelle 100 celebrations across the country and around the world

MONTREAL, Sept. 29, 2023 /CNW/ - The Riopelle Foundation invites you to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of one of Canada's most beloved and renowned visual artists: Jean Paul Riopelle. From the Royal Canadian Mint to the National Gallery of Canada, to the renowned circus troupe The 7 Fingers, to the renaming of Jean Paul Riopelle's childhood school — celebrations surrounding the centenary of the internationally renowned Québec artist will reach a crescendo over the next month, when Riopelle would have turned 100 on October 7, 2023.

Jean Paul Riopelle was born in Montréal on October 7, 1923 and died on March 12, 2002. A fiercely experimental visual artist, he pushed the boundaries of creativity and captured the attention of the world — his artworks are included in collections spanning 18 countries and six continents. Riopelle's enduring spirit has inspired artists and arts organizations across Canada and around the world to celebrate his artistic legacy.

Never before has a Canadian artist been honoured in this way. The Riopelle 100 festivities include newly commissioned experimental works of theatre, music, performances, literature, and art exhibitions, as well as a spectacular museum pavilion opening at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec in 2026 dedicated to the artist.

Next week, on October 3, 2023, the Royal Canadian Mint will issue a new two-dollar coin emblazoned with his iconic art and the National Gallery of Canada will open a major retrospective exhibition later on October 26, 2023 in his honour.

Riopelle was a painter, engraver, and sculptor. From his birthplace in Montréal, to his forty-odd years spent in France, through his travels and adventures to the farthest reaches of our world, and finally his return to Québec in the last decades of his life, Riopelle's artistic and cultural legacy extends to the four corners of the world, under the admiring eye of many collectors, museum institutions and through the archives and artworks he disseminated throughout his life.

Co-signatory of two historic manifestos, Ruptures inaugurales (1947), in France, alongside Henri Pastoureau and André Breton; and Refus global (1948), with other leading figures of the Automatiste movement, Riopelle was a leading figure amongst a group of artists and thinkers demanding artistic and social freedom in Québec in the 1950s. His work, along with his colleagues, had a profound impact on Quebec, and ultimately, Canadian society and culture in the mid-20^th century, transcending the boundaries of art.

Jean Paul Riopelle's creative legacy continues to inspire us. The Riopelle Foundation, along with its constellation of incredible partners, invites you to join the centenary celebrations. To see the full calendar of programs and celebrations, please visit: www.riopellefoundation.com/centenary 

The festivities kick off on Friday, September 29, when the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal (CSSDM) holds a naming ceremony when Jean Paul Riopelle's childhood school will be renamed in his honour. It was at this same school, located in the heart of the Plateau-Mont-Royal district, that Riopelle was introduced to visual arts as a child.

The celebration then moves to Ottawa on Tuesday, October 3^rd, where the Royal Canadian Mint will unveil its new commemorative $2 coin to mark the artist's centenary.

On Thursday, October 5 in Montréal, The 7 Fingers will unveil their next show, Riopelle Grandeur Nature, a circus production to be presented in winter 2024, paying tribute to Riopelle's creative genius, artistic freedom and passion for nature.

This month of festivities culminates on Thursday, October 26, with the opening of the major retrospective exhibition Riopelle: Crossroads in Time at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. Under the direction of guest curator Sylvie Lacerte, Ph.D., this exhibition will offer a singular perspective on the celebrated artist, showing his best-known works alongside creations rarely, if ever, exhibited.

During the month of October, the exquisite exhibition Jean Paul Riopelle – Essence of Studios continues at the Fondation Maeght until November 12, 2023 in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, with the Centre Pompidou opening an exhibition dedicated to Riopelle in Paris in December.

The birthday month is enhanced by celebrations already underway in Canada and France as part of the official Riopelle centenary celebrations. To discover the complete program please visit: www.riopellefoundation.com/centenary 

Media representatives are invited to cover the various events scheduled for October, to help spread the word about the celebrations of one of the greatest Canadian artists of all time. 

Manon Gauthier, Executive Director of the Riopelle Foundation and General Commissioner of the centenary celebrations, is available for interviews.

Orchestrated by the Riopelle Foundation, the festivities surrounding the 100^th anniversary of Riopelle's birth will offer audiences the world over a unique opportunity to reconnect with this Canadian artist who has profoundly marked the history of art. Featuring a wide variety of disciplines, from classical music (Riopelle Symphonique) to circus (The 7 Fingers), theater (Robert Lepage), cinema (FIFA), literature (art historian Pierre Landry), gastronomy (Montréal en Lumière and Toqué!) and cultural mediation (Riopelle Dialogues Canada-wide program), in addition to the participation of museum institutions (MNBAQ, National Gallery of Canada, Centre Pompidou, etc.) and educational institutions (Studio Riopelle educational program, Concordia University), the official program of the centenary celebrations will give rise to a multitude of cultural projects in Canada and around the world.

Under the theme "One with Nature", a host of prestigious partners will contribute to making these festivities - the largest ever organized for a Canadian visual artist - a resounding success, spreading Canadian talent around the world and inspiring new generations of artists through Riopelle's artistic legacy.

To discover the complete program please visit:

www.riopellefoundation.com/centenary 

Conceived by Riopelle in the 1960s and founded in 2019 by a group of Canadian philanthropists, the Riopelle Foundation's mission is to celebrate and perpetuate the vision and oeuvre of Jean Paul Riopelle in Canada and around the world, to support and inspire emerging visual artists, to encourage creative exploration and experimentation, and to promote teaching and learning. The Foundation also acts as a reference and analysis centre for documentation, publication, and discourse on Riopelle's oeuvre.

Website: www.riopellefoundation.com 

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SOURCE Jean Paul Riopelle Foundation