Sold for: $29,250

PROVENANCE
Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York
Acquavella Galleries, New York
Robert Miller Gallery, New York
Christinerose Gallery, New York
Private Collection, New York

Such was the rising reputation of Jean-Paul Riopelle in the 1950s and 1960s that he was represented by illustrious international galleries such as Gimpel Fils in London, Galerie Maeght in Paris (which he joined in 1966), and Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York, an important part of the provenance of this work. From 1954 on, he exhibited with this prominent New York gallery that showed renowned international artists such as Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Alberto Giacometti and Jean Dubuffet, to name a few.

By the late 1960s, the architecture of Riopelle’s dense surfaces had opened up into more spatially free work. In Sans titre, white, which had formerly been confined within areas of the canvas, has become the dominant element, infused by delicate colours. The black exposed at the top appears to be an undercoating that emerges elsewhere in small pockets, also making its presence known under the surface of the white. It is quite a gorgeous, painterly surface, reminiscent of the later black and white work of Paul-Émile Borduas.

This work will be included in Yseult Riopelle's forthcoming volume of the catalogue raisonné on the artist's work.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars