Jean Paul Riopelle

Jean Paul Riopelle (1923-2002), Canadian abstract painter, born in Montreal. He was an exponent of Tachisme (from French tache, “spot”), in which paintings are built up with patches of colour applied to the canvas in a spontaneous and random manner similar to that used in colour-field painting (See abstract expressionism). Riopelle produced canvases that may be described as painted improvisations. In his post-1950 works, thick strips of paint are squeezed directly from the tube, building up mosaic-like patterns of brilliant intensity. Many of Riopelle's later works, especially those that he painted after 1956, also include large areas of white, which create a free, spacious effect. Riopelle, who lived in France from 1946 until the 1970s, also worked in sculpture and the graphic arts.