Sam Szafran
Encyclopedia
Sam Szafran is a French artist.
in 1934, a son of Polish Jewish immigrants. He grew up in the Quartier des Halles. Hidden in the countryside and later in Switzerland
during World War II
he returned to Paris in 1951, after four years in Australia
. Following abstract beginnings at the Atelier de la Grande Chaumière, where the young artist studied under Henri Goetz
, he discovered pastel in the early 1960s. During the postwar period he encountered as well Jean Arp
, Yves Klein
, Jean-Paul Riopelle
, Joan Mitchell
, Alberto Giacometti
, Henri Cartier-Bresson
and Martine Franck
. In 1963 he married the Swiss-born Lilette Keller, their son Sebastien was born the following year. After spending several years in studios provided by their friends, they finally moved to Malakoff
in 1974.
In 1993, he received the Grand Prix des Arts de la Ville de Paris.
First retrospectives were organized by Jean Clair and Jean-Louis Prat in 1999 and 2000 at the Fondation Pierre Gianadda in Martigny/ Switzerland and at the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence.
In 2008, two of his pastels were shown at the exhibition Mystery and Glitter. Pastels in the Musée d'Orsay at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.
In 2011, he received the third Prix Piero Crommelynck.
Biography
Sam Szafran was born 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...
in 1934, a son of Polish Jewish immigrants. He grew up in the Quartier des Halles. Hidden in the countryside and later in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he returned to Paris in 1951, after four years in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Following abstract beginnings at the Atelier de la Grande Chaumière, where the young artist studied under Henri Goetz
Henri Goetz
Henri Bernard Goetz was a French American Surrealist painter and engraver. He is known for his artwork, as well as for inventing the carborundum printmaking process. His work is represented in more than 100 galleries worldwide.-Early life:Goetz was born in New York in 1909. His father ran an...
, he discovered pastel in the early 1960s. During the postwar period he encountered as well Jean Arp
Jean Arp
Jean Arp / Hans Arp was a German-French, or Alsatian, sculptor, painter, poet and abstract artist in other media such as torn and pasted paper....
, Yves Klein
Yves Klein
Yves Klein was a French artist considered an important figure in post-war European art. He is the leading member of the French artistic movement of Nouveau réalisme founded in 1960 by the art critic Pierre Restany...
, Jean-Paul Riopelle
Jean-Paul Riopelle
Jean-Paul Riopelle, was a painter and sculptor from Quebec, Canada.-Biography:Born in Montreal, he studied under Paul-Émile Borduas in the 1940s and was a member of Les Automatistes movement. He was one of the signers of the Refus global manifesto...
, Joan Mitchell
Joan Mitchell
Joan Mitchell was a "second generation" abstract expressionist painter. She was an essential member of the American Abstract expressionist movement, even though much of her career took place in France. Along with Lee Krasner, Grace Hartigan, and Helen Frankenthaler she was one of her era's few...
, Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draughtsman, and printmaker.Alberto Giacometti was born in the canton Graubünden's southerly alpine valley Val Bregaglia and came from an artistic background; his father, Giovanni, was a well-known post-Impressionist painter...
, Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer considered to be the father of modern photojournalism. He was an early adopter of 35 mm format, and the master of candid photography...
and Martine Franck
Martine Franck
Martine Franck is a Belgian photographer, and a member of the Magnum Photos agency. She was the second wife of photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson after his divorce from Ratna Mohini, and is president and co-founder of the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation, which administrates his estate.- Biography...
. In 1963 he married the Swiss-born Lilette Keller, their son Sebastien was born the following year. After spending several years in studios provided by their friends, they finally moved to Malakoff
Malakoff
Malakoff is a suburban commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department southwest of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of the city.-History:The commune of Malakoff was created on 8 November 1883 by detaching its territory from the commune of Vanves...
in 1974.
Artwork
The discovery of the pastel was of great significance to Sam Szafran. Since the beginning of the 1960s he has been using the pastel chalks of Pastels Roché which were fabricated based on the family recipe by the three sisters of the Roché-family at the Maison du Pastel. From now on this technique has been dominating his work either alone or in combination with charcoal or watercolor. At the same time the themes of his paintings intensified as well. The numerous series of staircases, jungle-like greenhouses and studios ("Ateliers")are the result of his obsession with mastering perfectly the somewhat anachronistic technique of pastel. By focusing on figurative themes and technical precision this kind of painting contradicts most of the abstract and gestural tendencies of contemporary art; this is an art beyond concepts, trends and ephemeral styles. As a result, the artist’s work has rarely been seen in exhibitions and almost exclusively in his home country and in Switzerland.In 1993, he received the Grand Prix des Arts de la Ville de Paris.
First retrospectives were organized by Jean Clair and Jean-Louis Prat in 1999 and 2000 at the Fondation Pierre Gianadda in Martigny/ Switzerland and at the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence.
In 2008, two of his pastels were shown at the exhibition Mystery and Glitter. Pastels in the Musée d'Orsay at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.
In 2011, he received the third Prix Piero Crommelynck.
Exhibitions
- Sam Szafran, dessins, Galerie Jacques Kerchache, Paris, 1965 (catalogue text by Pierre Schneider)
- Sam Szafran, pastels, Galerie Claude Bernard, Paris, 1972 (catalogue texts by Fouad El-Etr, Jean Paget and Georges SchéhadéGeorges SchehadéGeorges Schehadé was a Lebanese playwright and poet writing in French.-Life and career:Georges Schehadé was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in a Greek orthodox family but spent most of his life in Beirut, Lebanon...
) - Sam Szafran, pastels, Galerie Artek, GenevaGenevaGeneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, 1974 (catalogue text by Fouad El-Etr) - Sam Szafran, fusains, Galerie Claude Bernard, Paris, 1976 (catalogue text by James LordJames Lord (author)James Lord was an American writer. He was the author of several books, including critically acclaimed biographies of the artists Alberto Giacometti and Pablo Picasso...
) - Sam Szafran, pastels, Galerie Claude Bernard, Paris, 1987 (catalogue text by Jean ClairJean ClairJean Clair is the nom de plume of Gérard Régnier . He is an essayist, a polemicist, an art historian, an art conservator, and a member of the French Academy since May, 2008. He was, for many years, the director of the Picasso Museum in Paris...
) - Sam Szafran, aquarelles, Galerie Claude Bernard, Paris, 1987 (catalogue text by James Lord)
- Sam Szafran, dessins & pastels, Caja Iberia, Saragosse, 1988 (catalogue texts by Orlando Pelayo, Jean-Dominique Rey and Henri Cartier-Bresson)
- Sam Szafran, aquarelles, Galerie Vallois, Paris, 1992 (catalogue text by Jean Clair)
- Sam Szafran, Fondation Pierre Gianadda, Martigny, 1999; then Fondation MaeghtFondation MaeghtFondation Maeght is a museum of modern art situated in Saint-Paul de Vence in the south of France about 25km from Nice. It was founded by Marguerite and Aimé Maeght in 1964 and houses paintings, sculptures, collages, ceramics and all forms of modern art....
, Saint Paul, 11 February-30 March 2000 (catalogue text by Jean Clair) - Sam Szafran, Musée de la Vie romantiqueMusée de la Vie RomantiqueThe Musée de la Vie romantique stands at the foot of Montmartre hill in the IXe arrondissement, 16 rue Chaptal, Paris, France in a 1830 hôtel particulier facing two twin-studios, a greenhouse, a small garden, and a paved courtyard. The museum is open daily except Monday. Permanent collections are...
, Hôtel Scheffer-Renan, Paris, 2001 (catalogue texts by Michel Le Bris and Daniel Marchesseau) - Sam Szafran The Met' New York 2004 Gelman Collection
- Sam Szafran, exhibition at the Pavillon des Arts et du Design, jardin des Tuileries, Galerie Hopkins & Custot, Paris, 2–6 April 2008
- Sam Szafran. le mystere et l'eclat, exposition Musee d'Orsay November 2008
- Sam Szafran – Drawings, Pastels, Watercolors, Max Ernst Museum Brühl des LVR, 7 November 2010 – 30 January 2011 (catalogue texts in German, French and English, ed. by Julia Drost and Werner Spies, texts by Markus A. Castor, Jean Clair, Julia Drost, Daniel Marchesseau, Estelle Pietrzyk, Andreas Platthaus and Werner Spies)
- Sam Szafran, 3ième Prix Piero Crommelynck, estampes, Galerie de l'Ancien Collège, Châtellerault, June - August 2011
External links
- Images of Szafran by Magnum PhotosMagnum PhotosMagnum Photos is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices located in New York, Paris, London and Tokyo...
, photographer Martine FranckMartine FranckMartine Franck is a Belgian photographer, and a member of the Magnum Photos agency. She was the second wife of photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson after his divorce from Ratna Mohini, and is president and co-founder of the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation, which administrates his estate.- Biography...
: Magnumphotos - http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2011/07/14/postcard-from-paris/
- Galerie Claude Bernard