Sans titre, 1965

Gallery Moos, Toronto Private Collection, Thornhill, Ontario Sotheby’s Canada, auction, December 2, 1988, lot 41 Private Collection, Montréal

Yseult Riopelle, Jean Paul Riopelle: Catalogue raisonné, volume 3, 1960-1965, Montreal, 2009, full page colour reproduction, page 379, catalogue #1965.023P.1965 Guy Cogeval and Stéphane Aquin, Riopelle, Montreal, 2006, page 86

A prominent member of the Automatistes and signatory of the Refus Global, Jean-Paul Riopelle was a lifelong avant-garde and experimental artist. As part of Paul-Emile Borduas' circle, he produced his first abstract works in the late 1940s that were influenced by Surrealism, dream imagery and automatic writing. Riopelle’s works are both expressive and formal, responding to the art historical and socio-political environment of the post-war era, unique from his abstract-expressionist peers. Jeffery Spalding writes on the artist's work: “Each and every painting was an individual creation, not merely a member of a set or series. Yet, simultaneously each painting remained unquestionably identifiable as signature-brand Riopelle.” This fine ink and watercolour painting, “Sans titre”, exemplifies Riopelle’s works of the 1960s that are experimental in nature, particularly with regards to media. In addition to his ‘tachiste’ oil paintings, the artist incorporated ink, watercolour, collage and lithography into his artistic oeuvre of the decade. Sans titre embodies a lyricism that is ‘signature-brand Riopelle’, recognizable by its spontaneous yet controlled black lines that are peppered with flecks of cranberry and olive green pigment. Dating to 1965, “Sans titre” was painted during a time when Riopelle was renewing his artistic ties to Canada. After living in France for over a decade, he was immersed in the Parisian cultural scene. This brought him significant success on an international level as well, with shows in New York, Venice and Sao Paulo during the 1950s. In 1963, the National Gallery of Canada held a major solo exhibition on Riopelle’s painting, followed by a retrospective at the Musée du Québec in 1967. While re-establishing himself in Canada, the artist always maintained a presence abroad; the Galerie Maeght in Paris chose to represent him as of 1966, and dedicated a show to his work every two years.