Muses in Museums, Mitchell/Riopelle Exhibition, Part One

Muses in Museums is a series of photographs about the relationship of people with art in museum spaces. In this first part, the paintings are those of Jean-Paul Riopelle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Paul_Riopelle

 

There is a moment of stillness that I find moving while people are are observing and reflecting in front of a work of art. They are absorbed in contemplation and time seems to stop.

But time doesn’t stop and I have to act very quickly before the person moves on. I find it very playful to catch a visual composition that happens for a few seconds only.

Sometimes a color combination can convey the relationship between the people and the artwork they are looking at.

 

 

 

 

 

It can also be a contrast: here the flat, dark shapes of the heads and coats frame and accentuate the rythm and texture of the painting.

 

 

 

 

 

And sometimes, the figure just seems to become a live part of the art.

 

 

 

 

 

This week’s photos were taken during an exhibition that took place in the fall of 2017, at the Musée national des Beaux-Arts du Québec.  
This was the first ever exhibition to focus on the 25 years relationship between painters Jean-Paul Riopelle and Joan Mitchell, and how that relationship influenced their respective art.
https://www.mnbaq.org/en/exhibition/mitchell-riopelle-1252
https://www.gallery.ca/collection/artist/jean-paul-riopelle