The Wheel II 1956

Jean-Paul Riopelle created “The Wheel II” with oil on canvas. The wheel, at its core, is an ancient symbol of the cyclical nature of life, of time's unending flow. Here, fragmented and explosive, it evokes not serenity but the raw, untamed forces of nature. We see echoes of the mandala, a cosmic diagram used in Eastern traditions, yet Riopelle shatters its perfect symmetry. The wheel, as a symbol, appears across cultures—from the sun wheels of ancient Nordic art to the Buddhist Dharma wheel. Its resonance lies in our collective understanding of perpetual motion and change. This painting taps into our primal understanding of the world, revealing the wheel as a force ever-present in our subconscious.