100th celebrationse birth anniversary of Jean Paul Riopelle are now underway on the construction site of the future Espace Riopelle at the MNBAQ. Second part of a diptych on Riopelle, official artist.
What is good for one museum is not necessarily good for another. Truth below Outaouais, error beyond…
The project of a major retrospective devoted to the work of Jean Paul Riopelle (1923-2002) on the occasion of his centenary of birth was proposed to the management of the National Gallery of Canada, which “did everything to prevent this exhibition,” according to a statement to Radio-Canada from collector and patron Pierre Lassonde, co-founder of the Riopelle Foundation. The great Canadian museum was then in the midst of a decolonizing overhaul and a ninth solo dedicated to a modernist white man did not fit into the new paradigm. The exhibition was finally made through pressure, but the controversy affected the management of the NGC (since replaced) and blurred relations with certain major collectors.
The Riopelle Foundation, created in 2018, was also disappointed by the about-face of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA), which first accepted then refused the project to build an ad hoc wing, officially for due to lack of funds. It is ultimately at the National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec (MNBAQ) that Espace Riopelle will see the light of day. The construction site has just opened.
“We had to give the people of the Foundation time to deconstruct their dream of settling in Montreal,” in Riopelle’s hometown, says Jean-Luc Murray, director of the MNBAQ, himself a former member of the MMFA. “We built our narrative. We convinced the government to launch an architectural competition. We met the patrons. A bond of trust has been established. The relationship is positive because they are driven by the same dream of making art accessible to as many people as possible. »
A lot of noise
The Foundation is working to “celebrate and publicize the importance” of its hero. The centenary celebrations, extended around 2023, include dozens of activities and events, including several exhibitions (in Joliette, in Sherbrooke, at the Pompidou center in Paris, at the Maeght Foundation in Provence, etc.), a symphonic work, shows, etc. The painter’s primary school, on Plateau-Mont-Royal, was renamed in his name. Espace Riopelle is now continuing this desire to reposition the most famous visual artist of the 20the century in Quebec at the center of collective memory, in a way as an official artist.
Except that this kind of place to the glory of a single artist is rarely attached to a museum. The global model favors stand-alone installations in a place that is dedicated to the artist. This is the model of the Guido Molinari Foundation in Montreal.
“We are not at the Picasso Foundation: we have neither body of work nor infrastructure,” explains Manon Gauthier, general director of the Riopelle Foundation and general commissioner of the 100th celebrations.e. She was contacted in Vancouver, at the organization’s headquarters. “We do not have real estate and we have not established this structure with an endowment fund to enter the league of large international foundations. The main goal is to restore Riopelle to the place it occupies in the history of Quebec art, first, then Canadian and international, by ensuring that all our actions have longevity. The Espace Riopelle project [un titre provisoire] is a way of thinking about what will last beyond the celebrations. »
Is there still a danger that the MNBAQ will become above all the National Museum of Riopelle? Especially since the director admits wanting to take advantage of his international reputation, diminished but real, as leverage to attract foreign visitors.
“I want to emphasize the very pragmatic side of the project, which has many advantages for the museum, including perhaps giving more attractiveness to the national collection by focusing on an artist known here and around the world,” continues Mr. Murray. […] We put a lot of effort into ensuring that the pavilion provides a loop with the national collection. At the same time, we are entirely aware of the role we play in building a national identity by making a champion of Riopelle, which in fact already is. »
Follow the money
The project of more than 80 million dollars is linked to an exceptional donation of more than 60 works by Pierre Lassonde and Michael Audain, at the origin of the Foundation with other major collectors, including France Chrétien-Desmarais, André Desmarais and former senator Serge Joyal, a trio linked to the Power Corporation consortium, which has one of the finest collections of the painter’s works. The daughter of the modern master, Yseult Riopelle, is also among them. She continues the task of compiling the catalog raisonné of her father’s works.
“If we had hundreds of millions to make acquisitions, we would not be in the same discussion today,” admits Mr. Murray, referring to the Canadian system which lets private collectors make donations to museums in exchange for deductions. taxes in place of significant acquisition funds provided to establishments. “We are going to enrich our collection with absolutely incredible donations worth 120 million. What is interesting for us is the relationship with the patrons, the bond of trust, the fact that they have the good instinct to want to repatriate Riopelle’s works to a national establishment. »
Still, the tide is turning in the world’s museums, criticized as major sites of colonization. “For us, these contradictions can be overcome by the desire to open up to the contemporary era and by Riopelle’s ability to create bridges with the current situation,” replies M.me Gauthier. It is the objective. We would be wrong otherwise. We can combine the past, present and future. »
Director Murray intends to learn lessons from what has just happened across Outaouais. “Did you see what happened in Ottawa? he asks. Sometimes, when we go too fast, it’s not relevant for the organization. When you are not aligned with your realities, your identity, your collections, it’s complicated. [….] We trust each other in the way we will approach the presentation of Riopelle’s works and their dialogue with contemporary artists. It will be fascinating to see how museums will redefine themselves, and we are working on the long term. »