Quebec City’s Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec on October 21 unveiled its new Espace Riopelle–Michael Audain Pavilion to the public. Dedicated to Jean Paul Riopelle, one of the most significant Canadian artists of the twentieth century, the structure will display some 130 works by the artist, including paintings, sculptures, and prints, drawn from the museum’s collection, the largest public trove of works by Riopelle. More than 100 works by contemporary artists from the region will be on view as well.
The pavilion was designed by the Montreal-based firm Les Architectes FABG, which won a 2022 design competition. Built at a cost of $84 milllion, it was 50 percent funded by the Government of Quebec, with philanthropists Michael Audain and Yoshiko Karasawa, Pierre Lassonde, and André Desmarais and France Chrétien Desmarais kicking in an additional $25 million and the City of Quebec and the Fondation du Musée providing the rest.
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Situated in the center of the museum complex, between the Gérard-Morisset and Charles-Baillairgé pavilions, the 54,000-square-foot three-story building houses galleries, an art restoration lab, and a visible storeroom, as well as a café, a boutique, and several multipurpose areas.
The structure’s spruce ceilings harken back to Riopelle’s studio; planted patios suggest the wild vistas of L’Isle-aux-Grues, the island in the St. Lawrence River where the Montreal-born artist spent considerable time beginning in the late 1960s; he lived there from 1995 until his death in 2002.
The museum is celebrating the pavilion’s opening October 22–25, with the inaugural exhibitions “Riopelle: The Expression of Gesture” and “Challenging,” featuring Quebec modern art. Riopelle’s monumental 1992 canvas Tribute to Rosa Luxemburg will also be on view, complemented by “Breathing In Riopelle,” which invites visitors to inhale six separate scents inspired by the work. The interactive research project “Art and Emotions” will measure visitors’ emotional response to Riopelle’s oeuvre.