Some place in Winnipeg called Mayberry Fine Art is doing its darnedest to blur the line between what I would call Real Fine Art™ and Complete & Utter Crap™, and they're doing so with the help of Yseult Riopelle, Jean-Paul Riopelle's daughter, author of the Catalogue Raisonne
, and keeper of Jean-Paul Riopelle's artistic legacy.My best guess would be that someone needs some money.
Basically, what they doing is casting some things in bronze, calling them "sculptural gems" and trying to sell them for prices ranging from $39,000 to $750,000. If you have been under a rock for the past eight years, Jean-Paul Riopelle died in 2002, making it sort of difficult for him to make any art, recently. And that's why I would consider them Complete & Utter Crap™. Implying, or allowing someone to infer that these are sculptures made by Jean-Paul Riopelle is a fabrication worthy of Mother Goose or the Brothers Grimm.
Apparently they exhibited them someplace in Paris and are taking them on tour through Canada. If you'd like to read the press release, do so right here. They don't mention how many copies were cast, which leaves the possibility that the next time someone needs some cash all they have to do is cast some more statues. And don't even get me started on the drawings that they're trying to sell as well.
