Gérard Deschamps
Encyclopedia
Gérard Deschamps
Gérard Deschamps (born 1937 in Lyon
, France
) is a French contemporary artist. Deschamps lived in Lyon until 1944, when he then moved to Paris, where he lived until 1970.
. At this time he abandoned oil painting
, which he said lacks flexibility, and turned to collage
s, incorporating pictures of items from the Manufrance
catalog.
In 1957, he exhibited, at the Galerie du Haut Pave in Paris, his first paintings made of rags and pleating that announced New Realism
. In November 1957, he was sent to Algeria
for 27 months, where he took part in the famous 1958 counter-attack and the operation "jumelles". Released in 1960, he met Raymond Hains
and Jacques Villeglé and officially joined the New Realist group in 1961, a year after its official founding.
With pleating, he wanted to renovate the excesses of tissue, which he said "were the guardians of the breath of art to the West, even in periods of decline. Indeed, what would be the victory of Samothrace
without his thin wetted coat that made it the ancestor of compressed cars, the ultimate creation that was inspired to me by my lack of financial means". He specialized in rags, female underwear, found at a rag called Chatton. These cloths, then industrial Japanese tissues, were invading his workshops at La Châtre
and Rue Gambetta in Paris. His compositions containing female underwear – for example "le Rose de la Vie", a blend of predominantly pink panties, corsets, bras, girdles and garters – caused him to be censored several times.
In 1961, he found a new mine: U.S. Army tarps with fluorescent colors. He also worked on rags from Japanese and Belgian advertising as well as sheets of plastic kitchenware patchworks. In the same period, he used armor plates and metal enclosures that served to isolate the aircraft engines, marked by iridescent heat. In 1965, developing his military metaphors, he created the "bananas", made of folded and colored wire, which can be up to 8 meters long and remind strips military decorations. He invented the moiré patterns by overlapping metal grids.
In 1970, as he disagreed with the Parisian art world, Gerard Deschamps moved to La Châtre, home of his grandparents. His creative activity is ongoing, as will again be shown regularly since 1978 in exhibitions and galleries in Paris and abroad. By 1980, Deschamps gave his vision of a leisure society, with his playful outfits, made of assemblies of swimwear, balloon
s, skateboard
s and surfboard
s, which may bring Pop Art
to mind. In the 1990s, he created colorful beach ball
blends packed in nets, and then, in 2001, skateboards. Finally he presented his recent Pneumostructures, which are assemblies, or not, of buoy
s, inflatable air mattress
es, or other objects related to a child's imagination.
Gérard Deschamps (born 1937 in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) is a French contemporary artist. Deschamps lived in Lyon until 1944, when he then moved to Paris, where he lived until 1970.
Career
His first exhibition took place in 1955 at the Gallery Fachetti in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. At this time he abandoned oil painting
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
, which he said lacks flexibility, and turned to collage
Collage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
s, incorporating pictures of items from the Manufrance
Manufrance
Manufrance was the trade name of Manufacture Francaise d'Armes et Cycles de St.Etienne, a French mail order company which was situated in the manufacturing town of St. Etienne since 1888...
catalog.
In 1957, he exhibited, at the Galerie du Haut Pave in Paris, his first paintings made of rags and pleating that announced New Realism
New realism
Nouveau réalisme refers to an artistic movement founded in 1960 by the art critic Pierre Restany and the painter Yves Klein during the first collective exposition in the Apollinaire gallery in Milan...
. In November 1957, he was sent to Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
for 27 months, where he took part in the famous 1958 counter-attack and the operation "jumelles". Released in 1960, he met Raymond Hains
Raymond Hains
Raymond Hains was a French artist and photographer.-Biography:In 1945, Hains briefly enrolled in the sculpture course at the École des Beaux-Arts, Rennes and met Jacques de la Villeglé that same year. He then collaborated with E. Sougez as a photographer for France-Illustration...
and Jacques Villeglé and officially joined the New Realist group in 1961, a year after its official founding.
With pleating, he wanted to renovate the excesses of tissue, which he said "were the guardians of the breath of art to the West, even in periods of decline. Indeed, what would be the victory of Samothrace
Samothrace
Samothrace is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. It is a self-governing municipality within the Evros peripheral unit of Thrace. The island is long and is in size and has a population of 2,723 . Its main industries are fishing and tourism. Resources on the island includes granite and...
without his thin wetted coat that made it the ancestor of compressed cars, the ultimate creation that was inspired to me by my lack of financial means". He specialized in rags, female underwear, found at a rag called Chatton. These cloths, then industrial Japanese tissues, were invading his workshops at La Châtre
La Châtre
La Châtre is a commune in the Indre department in central France.-People:*It was the birth place of Henri de Latouche and Emile Acollas. André Boillot the auto racing driver crashed here in 1932 and died from his injuries....
and Rue Gambetta in Paris. His compositions containing female underwear – for example "le Rose de la Vie", a blend of predominantly pink panties, corsets, bras, girdles and garters – caused him to be censored several times.
In 1961, he found a new mine: U.S. Army tarps with fluorescent colors. He also worked on rags from Japanese and Belgian advertising as well as sheets of plastic kitchenware patchworks. In the same period, he used armor plates and metal enclosures that served to isolate the aircraft engines, marked by iridescent heat. In 1965, developing his military metaphors, he created the "bananas", made of folded and colored wire, which can be up to 8 meters long and remind strips military decorations. He invented the moiré patterns by overlapping metal grids.
In 1970, as he disagreed with the Parisian art world, Gerard Deschamps moved to La Châtre, home of his grandparents. His creative activity is ongoing, as will again be shown regularly since 1978 in exhibitions and galleries in Paris and abroad. By 1980, Deschamps gave his vision of a leisure society, with his playful outfits, made of assemblies of swimwear, balloon
Balloon
A balloon is an inflatable flexible bag filled with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. Modern balloons can be made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or a nylon fabric, while some early balloons were made of dried animal bladders, such as the pig...
s, skateboard
Skateboard
A skateboard is typically a specially designed plywood board combined with a polyurethane coating used for making smoother slides and stronger durability, used primarily for the activity of skateboarding. The first skateboards to reach public notice came out of the surfing craze of the early 1960s,...
s and surfboard
Surfboard
A surfboard is an elongated platform used in the sport of surfing. Surfboards are relatively light, but are strong enough to support an individual standing on them while riding a breaking wave...
s, which may bring Pop Art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
to mind. In the 1990s, he created colorful beach ball
Beach ball
A beach ball is an inflatable ball for beach and water games. Their large size ball and light weight take little effort to propel; they travel very slowly and generally must be caught with two hands, making them ideal for lazy games and for children...
blends packed in nets, and then, in 2001, skateboards. Finally he presented his recent Pneumostructures, which are assemblies, or not, of buoy
Buoy
A buoy is a floating device that can have many different purposes. It can be anchored or allowed to drift. The word, of Old French or Middle Dutch origin, is now most commonly in UK English, although some orthoepists have traditionally prescribed the pronunciation...
s, inflatable air mattress
Air mattress
An air mattress is an inflatable mattress/sleeping pad. Due to its buoyancy, it is also often used as a water toy/flotation device, and in UK is termed as a lilo .-For sleeping:...
es, or other objects related to a child's imagination.
Main exhibitions
- 1955: Galerie Fachetti, Paris
- 1957: Galerie Colette Allendy, Paris
- 1962: Galerie J, Paris ; Galerie Ursula Girardon, Paris
- 1963: Galleria Appolinaire, Milan
- 1964: Galerie Florence Houston Brown, Paris
- 1965: Galerie Ad Libidum, Anvers
- 1966: Galleria l'Elefante, Venise
- 1979: Galerie Dominique Marches, Chateauroux
- 1988: Galerie Le Gall Peyroulet, Paris
- 1990: Galerie Le Gall Peyroulet, Paris
- 1991: Galerie Le Gall Peyroulet, Paris
- 1993: Galerie Der Spiegel, Cologne
- 1998: Fondation Cartier, Paris
- 1998: Galerie de La Châtre, Paris
- 2000: Galerie de La Châtre, Paris
- 2002: Galleria Peccolo Livorno
- 2002: Galerie de La Châtre, Paris
- 2003: Musée de l'Hospice Saint Roch, Issoudun
- 2004: Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dole
- 2005: Château d'Ars La Châtre ; Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Orléans
- 2006: Le Safran Amiens
- 2007: Galerie de La Châtre, Paris
- 2008: Musee des ARTS DECORATIFS Paris
- 2009: "Châteauroue", manifestation d'art contemporain à Châteauroux
- 2009: "solo show" fiac paris galerie Martine et Thibaul de La Châtre
Sources
- Dictionnaire de l'art moderne et contemporain, nlle. éd., Paris, Éditions Hazan, 2006, 194 pages (French)
- www.gerarddeschamps.org (French)
- Gérard Deschamps, homo accessoirus, interview with Hélène Kelmachter, Actes Sud, 1998 (French)