Sold for: $91,250

PROVENANCE
Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York
Acquavella Modern Art, New York
Galerie Simon Blais, Montreal
Private Collection, Toronto

LITERATURE
Noël Lajoie and Pierre Schneider, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Ficelles et autres jeux, Musée d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris, 1972, listed and reproduced
Simon Blais et al, Jean Paul Riopelle, Les Migrations du Bestiaire, 2014, reproduced page 137
Krista Ulujuk Zawadski, "Riopelle and Inuit String Games," Riopelle: The Call of Northern Landscapes and Indigenous Cultures, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 2020, pages 121
Yseult Riopelle, Jean Paul Riopelle Catalogue raisonné, Volume 4, 1966-1971, reproduced page 437, catalogue #1971.070P.1971

EXHIBITED
Canadian Cultural Centre and the Musée d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris, Riopelle: Ficelles et autres jeux, June 15 - October 12, 1972, catalogue #26
Galerie Simon Blais, Montreal, Riopelle, Les Migrations du Bestiaire, May 7 - June 16, 2014

Riopelle’s Jeux de ficelles series was produced between 1969 and 1971, and was composed of almost one hundred acrylics on paper, such as this fine example. The first major foray of the artist into the use of acrylics, the series was exhibited in 1972 at the Canadian Cultural Centre and Musée d’art moderne in Paris, and was described by the critic Robert Enright as “among his most important works on paper.” The primary inspiration of this productive moment was Riopelle’s introduction to string games played by Inuit communities during the winter months. These games, consisting of transforming figures made from loops of string held between fingers, were an important part of the social life and storytelling traditions in Arctic communities, and depicted animated animals and shifting figures in order to reproduce stories or accompany songs.

While producing the Jeux de ficelles works, Riopelle kept in his Meudon studio a copy of Guy Mary-Rousselière’s book Les jeux de ficelles des Arviligjuarmiut, which included extensive illustrations of the forms and methods of these games. The resulting images “can be interpreted to represent two distinct categories: the string figure as a central motif, and the string figure as a point of departure from improvisation.” Les deux renards seems to straddle both interpretations, suggesting the looped form of running foxes as well as the free, lyrical lines and vivid colour afforded by acrylic paints. This crucial mid-career period demonstrates Riopelle at his most joyful and vibrant.

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