Jean-Paul Riopelle: The Call of Northern Landscapes and Indigenous Cultures

While some museums are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Apollo’s usual weekly pick of exhibitions will include shows at institutions that are currently open as well as digital projects providing virtual access to art and culture.

The Quebecois artist Jean-Paul Riopelle, who was a key member of the Surrealist-inspired Automatistes group in Montreal in the 1940s, is probably best known for the lyrical abstract paintings he produced later in his career, after moving to Paris in 1947. Less well known is the inspiration he took from his native Quebec, where he returned in the 1970s; this blockbuster display at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is the first to explore his engagement with northern landscapes and with the artistic traditions of indigenous Canadian cultures. While the museum is shuttered owing to Covid-19 restrictions, it has made available a full virtual tour of the display, which includes some 160 paintings, sculptures and works on paper by Riopelle as well as more than 150 artefacts and archival documents (until 11 January). Take the tour via the MMFA’s website.

Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary here