Québec’s fine arts museum to open C$84 million Riopelle pavilion

The Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec plans to open a C$84 million pavilion dedicated to Jean Paul Riopelle on October 22, 2026, giving visitors a setting for a survey of his career and a gallery built around his 40-metre triptych. The Art Newspaper reported the opening schedule on October 21.

First announced in 2022, the project has since more than doubled in budget, the newspaper reported. Museum director Jean-Luc Murray said the institution had long wanted to showcase Riopelle’s work and make it more accessible.

A career survey and a gallery for a 40-metre work

The Espace Riopelle-Michael Audain Pavilion is named for the Québec artist, who lived from 1923 to 2002, and philanthropist Michael Audain, a co-founder of the Jean Paul Riopelle Foundation. The three-storey building spans more than 5,000 square metres and has room for four exhibitions.

A major survey will trace Riopelle’s career, including his 1950s “mosaic” abstract paintings and prints inspired by Québec’s landscape. A purpose-built circular gallery is devoted entirely to L’Hommage à Rosa Luxemburg (1992), a 40-metre-long triptych, or three-part artwork.

Audain, Yoshiko Karasawa and mining magnate Pierre Lassonde have donated more than 60 works by Riopelle and his contemporaries for the new space. The gift brings work by other artists of his time into the pavilion alongside the survey of his own career.

Public funding and donated art

The Jean Paul Riopelle Foundation led the project, seeking to fulfil the artist’s wish to establish a foundation at the museum. The Art Newspaper reported substantial contributions from both the Québec government and philanthropic donors.