ARMAN
Arman, actually Armand Pierre Fernandez (November 17, 1928 in Nice, France – October 22, 2005 in New York, NY) was an object artist and co-founder of the Nouveau Réalisme.
From a printing error on the invitation cards to an exhibition, he accepted the artist name Arman (without the final “d”) in 1958.
Arman attended the “Lycée du Parc impérial” in Nice, where he completed his school education in 1946 with the Baccalauréat (philosophy and mathematics).
In the same year he studied at the École Nationale des Arts Décoratifs in Nice until 1949.
In a judok club he met Yves Klein in 1947. Like Klein, he was interested in Buddhism, the mystery of the Rosary and astrology.
With the aim to become the auctioneer, he studied in 1949 for two years at the École du Louvre in Paris. At the same time, he devoted himself to painting and created paintings inspired by Surrealism.
The encounter with the art critic Pierre Restany in 1951 gave him a decisive influence on his further artistic career.
In 1952 Arman completed his military service in the Indochinakrieg.
In 1957 he traveled through Turkey and Afghanistan, in 1958 through Iran.
In 1959, Arman abandoned painting (which he was to turn back to in 1988) and experimented with his first allures d’objets (prints of colored objects on canvas and paper) and the contents of garbage cans and paper baskets, from which, from 1959, the first Poubelles Above.
The accumulations of identical objects he called accumulations.
On October 23, 1960, the artist came to fame as a result of the scandal that had arisen on the occasion of his exhibition “Le Plein” at Galerie Iris Clert.
Inspired by the exhibition of Yves Klein, who had a gallery cleared, the walls painted white and the empty room illuminated with a bluish light.
Arman responded in his exhibition with filling the gallery with trash.
One of the most important events in Arman’s career was a few days later, on October 27, 1960, in Yves Klein’s Parisian apartment, the founding of Les Nouveaux Réalistes movement by Pierre Restany.
In 1961 Arman realized the first colères (tantrums), actions in which objects such as violins or contrabasses were smashed.
In 1963 he expanded the concept of the colères, beginning to cut objects (coupes) and blow up with dynamite (combustions) and the remains.
Since 1964, the inclusions, accumulated in polyester, accumulated, since 1970 “invisible”, because injected concrete items.
Arman turned to painting again in 1988.