Riopelle and Quebec Modernism

In the 1940s, a small group of dissident artists called les Automatistes developed the foundations for a new era of Canadian abstract art. Jean Paul Riopelle, born 100 years ago in 2023, was one of its founding members and would go on to become one of Canada’s most famous and internationally regarded painters. Join Ryan Green for an exciting journey through the rise of mid-century abstraction in Canadian art, the life and work of Jean Paul Riopelle, and the legacy of Modernist painting in Quebec.

Bio: Ryan Green is the president and owner of Masters Gallery Ltd. He has over 20 years of experience as a dealer of Canadian historical, post war and contemporary art with a specialty in Group of Seven and mid-century Quebec Abstraction. The founder of Young Masters, a collaborative initiative with Masters Gallery and the Calgary Public School Board to introduce elementary school students to Canadian art, artists and art appreciation, he also created and taught the curriculum for the University of Calgary’s inaugural course on Canadian Art History and Appreciation. As well as teaching European art and art history at the U of C, he has lectured at University College London and the Courtauld Institute. A Canadian friend of the Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, England, an Honorary Associate member of the Alberta Society of Artists and a distinguished patron of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ryan joined the Glenbow Museum board in 2020 and currently serves as a member on the collections and access committee.