Jean Paul Riopelle (1923-2002)

From New York to Paris, Jean-Paul Riopelle proudly flew the colours of his native Canada. His fiery abstraction made him one of the most prominent artists of his time. A form of nature now in the spotlight in Lille.

To mark the centenary of the multidisciplinary Canadian artist's birth, the Maeght Foundation lifts the veil on a lesser-known facet of his vibrant body of studio work.

A lithograph stolen from the artist's studio in Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson in 2005 has been recovered by Candian police in a residence north of Montreal. Three other works, still missing, were stolen during the same break-in. An investigation is underway.

The Quebec artist, who died in 2002, spent the last years of his life on Isle-aux-Grues, where a studio museum will be dedicated to his work. Scheduled to open in 2024, its opening will precede the inauguration of a Riopelle Pavilion at the Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec.

Modern and contemporary art were feted in Lille, where France was represented by illustrious figures from Survage to Riopelle, not to mention Bernard Buffet.

This dispersal organized in partnership with Christie’s France features some of the rare treasures in Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller’s poetic library.

In this newly created role, Jean-Paul Engelen will oversee business strategies of the auction house across its offices and consultancies in North and South America. Engelen joined the in 2015 as head of the contemporary art department, and since his arrival sales have grown 72% globally. 

Painted when the artist was not yet famous, this seaside subject puts people at the center of the composition.

The second Surrealist chapter of this library highlights women who loved freedom, from Leonora Carrington to Remedios Varo.

Jean Paul Gaultier is the artistic director of an auction to benefit the fight against AIDS. Organized with Drouot Estimations in partnership with the French Fédération de la haute couture et de la mode and Christie’s, it will take place online at Drouot Digital.