Vendu pour : $91,250

PROVENANCE
Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York
Acquavella Modern Art, New York
Galerie Simon Blais, Montréal
Collection privée, Toronto

BIBLIOGRAPHIE
Noël Lajoie et Pierre Schneider, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Ficelles et autres jeux, Musée d’art moderne de la Ville de Paris, 1972, répertorié et reproduit
Simon Blais et al, Jean Paul Riopelle, Les Migrations du Bestiaire, 2014, reproduit page 137
Krista Ulujuk Zawadski, « Riopelle et les jeux de cordes inuits », Riopelle : l’appel des paysages nordiques et des cultures autochtones, Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, 2020, pages 121
Yseult Riopelle, Jean Paul Riopelle Catalogue raisonné, Volume 4, 1966-1971, reproduit page 437, catalogue #1971.070P.1971

EXPOSITION
Centre culturel canadien et Musée d’art moderne de la Ville de Paris, Riopelle : Ficelles et autres jeux, 15 juin - 12 octobre 1972, catalogue #26
Galerie Simon Blais, Montréal, Riopelle, Les Migrations du Bestiaire, 7 mai - 16 juin 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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