{"id":1439,"date":"2023-08-09T09:31:04","date_gmt":"2023-08-09T13:31:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/devtheatresaintecatherine.local\/?page_id=1439"},"modified":"2026-06-23T13:47:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T17:47:34","slug":"art","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/theatresaintecatherine.com\/en\/art\/","title":{"rendered":"UPCOMING EXHIBITION"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Exhibitions<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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May, June and July<\/h6>\n

William Brayley<\/h2>\n

From May 15 to July 31<\/span><\/h6>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

RIOPELLE v. POLLOCK<\/p>\n

Jean Paul Riopelle and Jackson Pollock.<\/p>\n

Goliaths of modern art. Respectively the de<\/p>\n

facto leaders of the automatistes and<\/p>\n

abstract expressionists, two of the most<\/p>\n

important schools in the<\/p>\n

history of painting that stood to change the<\/p>\n

practice forever. From the cave walls of the<\/p>\n

pre-historic era to ancient Greece, the<\/p>\n

Renaissance schools of Italy and then for a<\/p>\n

century in Paris<\/p>\n

before finally landing in Montreal and New<\/p>\n

York City, with these two artists and their<\/p>\n

compatriots, the great tradition had for the<\/p>\n

first time found itself centered in North<\/p>\n

America. It was the 1950's and there was a<\/p>\n

yearning to break away from old ideas and<\/p>\n

traditional practices in all realms of culture.<\/p>\n

Art painters played a major role in shaping<\/p>\n

this new world, as they always had, by<\/p>\n

producing material objects that aimed to<\/p>\n

embody the philosophies of a post<\/p>\n

modern era. And while the mould for<\/p>\n

canonical painting had been evolving slowly<\/p>\n

through the generations with groups like<\/p>\n

the impressionists, cubists and surrealists,<\/p>\n

it was perhaps the automatistes and<\/p>\n

abstract expressionists who came along to<\/p>\n

shatter it once and for all. Their massive<\/p>\n

canvases and unorthodox techniques<\/p>\n

diverged from the conventions of<\/p>\n

traditional schools of painting entirely.<\/p>\n

With layer upon layer of texture and colour<\/p>\n

the paintings were non-representational and void<\/p>\n

of obvious meaning. Instead, the works aimed to draw<\/p>\n

from the deep well of the subconscious to<\/p>\n

express raw emotion while showcasing the<\/p>\n

fundamental nature of paint itself. Yet<\/p>\n

Riopelle and Pollock took very different<\/p>\n

approaches to their art forms. Riopelle,<\/p>\n

using palette knives almost exclusively to<\/p>\n

create his famous mosaic-like abstracts, taking a more<\/p>\n

traditional stance in front of<\/p>\n

the canvas, while Pollock, standing over his<\/p>\n

surfaces, poured and splashed paint to<\/p>\n

achieve a sense of harmonious disarray in<\/p>\n

his renowned drip paintings. The works of<\/p>\n

these artists were also, perhaps, echoes of<\/p>\n

the medium's final evolution. The 1960's<\/p>\n

saw the art world explode into an era of<\/p>\n

popular culture fueled by mass<\/p>\n

reproduction and digital arts. Today, the<\/p>\n

new school of painting lives in the oeuvre of<\/p>\n

Graffiti artists whose works in many ways<\/p>\n

are suggestive of an age that has banished<\/p>\n

traditional painting to the realm of the<\/p>\n

decorative. At the same time, Graffiti art<\/p>\n

has not changed the most fundamental<\/p>\n

principles of painting. With Jean Paul<\/p>\n

Riopelle and Jackson Pollock, it was the<\/p>\n

first time that paintings existed simply for<\/p>\n

the rich colours, textures and forms of<\/p>\n

paint, for its unpredictable, dynamic and<\/p>\n

fluid nature. Where else could it go from<\/p>\n

there?\u00a0 These two works, \u201cTitle Card #1\u201d<\/p>\n

and \u201cWrestle Mania\u201d, attempt to imitate the<\/p>\n

painting\u00a0 techniques used by Riopelle and<\/p>\n

Pollock in the 1950\u2019s, one completed with<\/p>\n

palette knives, the other by dripping and<\/p>\n

pouring paint. Together they aim to<\/p>\n

consider whether this generation of<\/p>\n

painters had truly reached the final stage of<\/p>\n

the medium\u2019s evolution with their<\/p>\n

monumental compositions. And to ponder<\/p>\n

what the artist\u2019s themselves might say on the topic.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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