Pierre de Ligny Boudreau, “Riopelle”, Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, 1980, page 3
Jean Paul Riopelle achieved international notoriety for his intensely creative and mischievous personality. His inherent originality impelled him to experiment with different media throughout the 1960s, such as ink on paper and lithography, and by the 1980s he rediscovered a passion for more representational subject matter.
The artist relocated to his native Quebec after a period of twenty four fulfilling years in Europe. During this resettlement, he shifted his attention away from the chaos of urban life and created a studio-residence in a renovated barn near Ste-Marguerite, a Laurentian lake. The environment lent itself well to his renewed engagement with nature, and was where he produced artworks that featured owls and birds. Riopelle's father introduced him to the legendary Canadian naturalist, Grey Owl, which may have further stimulated his passion for depicting the animals. In these semi-familiar abstractions, the viewer encounters Riopelle's “alert curiosity” in the way he combines representational forms with modern painting techniques. Simultaneously mysterious and reassuring, his lithographs allow the viewer an escape from reality and a return to their true selves.
