So, too, did he seek to safeguard and pass on knowledge about artistic materials and techniques. It could be said that for Riopelle the essential and unavoidable task was to acquire knowledge about the materials of his art, the better to master or even transcend them. Eventually, however, he would finally master these as well, fashioning a language of mysteriously prophetic clues that leave room for unlimited interpretation. Riopelle’s love of an immersive contact with the elemental materials of his art explains in part his initial reluctance to use more elaborate techniques such as lithography or etching. He loved first and foremost the direct and spontaneous contact with the elements, digging in with hands full, without sophisticated tools, except perhaps for the custom-made palette knives that he often used in working with paint. Indeed, throughout his career, Riopelle literally embraced matter. In all his work, and in all of the many media he explored, he cared deeply about the materials of art, which for him were a constant preoccupation and challenge. He was, of course, a sculptor as well as a painter, working first in clay, then moving on to wax, sandstone, porcelain, even bread crumbs. My father, Jean Paul Riopelle, used to refer to his paintings as “sculptures in oil,” 1 a statement that suggests the importance he accorded to the material, plastic elements of his art.
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