Quebec America publishes Riopelle and me, a reissue of the biography, revised and expanded, of Jean Paul Riopelle released by Hélène de Billy in 1996, accompanied by her backstage memories. Anecdotes about his meeting with Riopelle and his research to identify the character.
In this “Riopelle year”, which marks the 100e anniversary of his birth, re-reading the detailed biography of Hélène de Billy immerses us with pleasure in the rich and hectic life of the most famous visual artist in Quebec. We relive his youth, his initiation to art and hunting with the teacher Henri Bisson when he joined public school at the age of 13. The adventure of the Automatistes, his departure for France, the importance of the French surrealists for Riopelle, that of the critic Georges Duthuit for his rise to notoriety in France then that of Aimé Maeght for the distribution of his works. But also all his adventures with women, spouses and mistresses.
The worldly Riopelle, the passionate Riopelle, Riopelle and the cars, Riopelle and friends, Riopelle and the bistros, but also Riopelle and this frenzy to create which made him produce some 6000 works. Among the elements added in this edition, the details of the meeting between Hélène de Billy and Joan Mitchell, four months before the death of the American painter, are not lacking in interest. The book could be opportunistic in this year 2023, but the biography is so pleasant to read again and the vignettes on the writing experience of Hélène de Billy so tasty that it turns out to be very useful to fully enjoy the celebrations of this giant of Canadian art.
Riopelle and me
Helene de Billy
Quebec America
462 pages