Famine ailée

From 1969 to 1970, Jean Paul Riopelle produced more than 50 original sculptures in plaster and terracotta. Among these are the individual elements that form La joute (1969–70, cast circa 1974), his only fountain-sculpture, first installed in the Olympic Park during the 1976 Summer Olympics then moved to its permanent location at Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle in 2004. Many of these sculptures weren’t cast in bronze until much later, in 1989, at the Bonvicini Foundry in Verona, Italy, with the assistance of Galerie Lelong, which editioned the work. The bronze Famine ailée was produced at the foundry using a lost-wax technique. The sculpture’s tactile aspect and the direct contact with its materials were particularly appealing to Riopelle, who had been working more figuratively since his Le bestiaire (1968) series. Famine ailée remains one of the more flamboyant works from this period. A fledgling, nestled in the hollow of a tree, spreads its wings as if ready to take flight.