Le Roi de Thulé 1973

Jean-Paul Riopelle made 'Le Roi de Thulé' on paper, using an expressive approach to mark making and a colour palette that feels both intuitive and deeply felt. Look closely, and you'll see how the material aspects of the work – the texture, the color, the surface – all contribute to the emotional experience. The paint isn't concerned with being either thick or thin, it's simply there. It's hard to tell what tools Riopelle used, but the process feels raw and immediate. In the center, there’s this mask or face, but it's fractured and colorful, with blues, reds, and greens all vying for attention. The overall effect is of a work in progress, a sketch, which is also a finished piece. Riopelle’s embrace of ambiguity reminds me of artists like de Kooning, who was unafraid to leave things unresolved, understanding art as an ongoing conversation across time. It embraces multiple interpretations over fixed meanings.