Québec Museum Unveils $61 Million Jean Paul Riopelle Pavilion

(MENAFN- USA Art News) The Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec (MNBAQ) will open its new Espace Riopelle-Michael Audain Pavilion on October 22. The facility, which cost C$84 million ($61 million), is named after Jean Paul Riopelle (1923-2002), a celebrated Modern artist from Québec, and Michael Audain, a philanthropist and co-founder of the Jean Paul Riopelle Foundation.

Initially announced in 2022, the project's budget more than doubled. The Québec government contributed over C$40 million to the endeavor. The Jean Paul Riopelle Foundation, which provided at least C$20 million, spearheaded the initiative to fulfill Riopelle's vision of establishing a foundation at the MNBAQ.

Audain and his wife, Yoshiko Karasawa, alongside mining magnate Pierre Lassonde, have donated more than 60 significant works by Riopelle and his contemporaries for the new space. When factoring in the value of these gifted artworks, Audain's total contribution to the project exceeds C$90 million, making it one of the largest philanthropic donations in Québec's cultural history.

Designed by Montreal-based FABG Architectes, the three-story pavilion evokes Riopelle's rustic home studio. It spans over 5,000 sq. m. and can accommodate four exhibitions. These include a major survey of Riopelle's career, ranging from his Automatiste works to his 1950s“mosaic” abstract paintings and prints inspired by Québec's landscape. A dedicated circular gallery showcases the artist's 40m-long triptych L'Hommage à Rosa Luxemburg (1992).

Reflecting the artist's deep connection to nature, the pavilion offers expansive views of the Plains of Abraham and the Saint Lawrence River. It also features two covered outdoor terraces, and its landscape design incorporates plants native to the boreal forest, reminiscent of Riopelle's northern Québec origins.

Audain, who has admired Riopelle since childhood and began collecting his work in the 1990s, told The Art Newspaper that Riopelle is“arguably Canada's most internationally known artist. He broke new ground by painting the landscape in a way that no one had ever painted it before.” Audain drew a comparison between Riopelle and Paul Gauguin, noting that the 19th-century French artist“only used a pallet knife on smaller works. Riopelle was the first to do entire landscapes using only a palette knife. I think the most important and innovative aspect of Riopelle's work was disaggregating the landscape and reducing it to strokes of a palette knife.” Audain further explained that Riopelle had a specific set of knives crafted for this purpose, adding that“Riopelle became closer to the landscape than any other artist before him.”

Jean-Luc Murray, the MNBAQ's director, stated:“Riopelle finally has a space entirely dedicated to him. The musée has long wanted to showcase his work while making it more accessible, and the Espace Riopelle-Michael Audain Pavilion does so brilliantly. We are excited to be welcoming the public to this magnificent new building, which creates a nuanced interplay between nature, architecture and the larger-than-life work of this influential Québec and Canadian artist.”

We previously reported:

The new Large art center on Île Seguin in Greater Paris opened October 17, focusing on promoting French contemporary art in a building designed by RCR

Source: The Art Newspaper

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