Continuing our series on famous people from Nice. Today, I invite you to explore those from Nice who have contributed their stone to the ever-subjective edifice of art.
Whether adopted Niçois like Ben or true Nissart like Yves Klein and Arman, all have proudly flown the colors of our city. Nice Première presents the profiles of 3 artists whose fates are closely linked.
Yves Klein:
Yves Klein was born in 1928 in Nice. Although his artistic career lasted only eight years (from 1954 to 1962, the year he died of a heart attack at the age of 36), he is recognized as one of the most important protagonists of the post-war avant-garde, having deeply inspired and influenced both his contemporaries and subsequent generations of artists worldwide. Through his paintings, sculptures, exhibitions, writings, photographic documents, plays, and film scripts, Yves Klein challenged many traditional ideas about the nature, production, and presentation of art. Klein became famous for his monochrome paintings, which, as their name suggests, used only one color. Monochromy was for him a way to suppress expressionistic and subjective composition elements in art, thereby awakening the individual’s receptivity to everyday experiences such as sight, thought, and touch. Yves Klein is often associated with a specific shade of ultramarine blue called IKB (International Klein Blue). IKB is a rich, luminous color of poetic strength, which Klein achieved through a special recipe. He developed an oil-free fixative, allowing the pure color pigment grains to appear as floating particles. Yves Klein inaugurated his “Blue Period” with a spectacular exhibition in Milan in 1957. He first worked with deep blue tinted sponges in 1957/58, as part of a contract with the Gelsenkirchen theater for its murals. He also created spongy reliefs and sponge sculptures. He garnered attention with actions like “The Void” exhibition (1958), where visitors encountered empty gallery walls, and “Anthropometries” (1960), where naked women’s body imprints coated in blue were transferred onto white canvases. Through his “Fire Paintings” (from 1961), he experimented with flame throwing, burning cardboard setups. He exposed his so-called “Cosmogonies” to wind and rain. Yves Klein also had an influence on conceptual art, active art, and was a precursor to “Body Art.”
Arman:
Armand Pierre Fernandez was born on November 17, 1928, in Nice, and from childhood was familiarized with objects in his father’s antique shop. A brilliant student, he began painting at the age of 10 and entered the School of Decorative Arts in Nice in 1946. At 19, he met Yves Klein and Claude Pascal, who would become his two closest friends. It was the beginning of an exhilarating youth, his interest in philosophies and arts from the Far East led him to the École du Louvre in Paris in 1949. Returning to Nice in 1951, his passion for painting grew under the influence of Russian painter Serge Poliakoff and Nicolas de Stael. Like Vincent Van Gogh, he decided to sign his work with his first name: Armand. Influenced by the works of Kurt Schwitters and Jackson Pollock, he experimented with stamping and exhibited his first “Cachets” in Paris in 1956. It was not until 1958, during an exhibition at Iris Clert’s, that Arman authenticated a printing error on the invitation card (Armand was written without the “d”) and transformed his signature.
In the early 60s, his career took a new direction with the start of his Accumulations of objects. His first exhibition in New York was in 1961, and he began using new materials such as polyester and Plexiglas. As he multiplied his artworks and exhibitions, Arman fully engagedø in the intellectual and artistic movement of the 60s. His encounters led him to the New York art scene, notably including Marcel Duchamp. Starting in 1967, Arman embarked on collaborations with the industry (Art and Industry). In the early 70s, his work became increasingly recognized in France and abroad, and he took American citizenship. Arman also traveled and exhibited in Asia. In the 1980s and 1990s, his range of works and techniques expanded. Arman varied and multiplied various execution procedures: “The Day After” (Combustion + bronze), Painting—Brush Strokes, Dirty Paintings, Shooting Colors, bronze series, Atlantis… By the late 1990s, his work became radicalized in a sequence of gestures related to the object (Accumulations in Relation, Cascades, Sandwich Combos). Concurrently, Arman produced large format engravings and etchings, drawings, and renewed his publishing collaborations with poets and writers. In 2000, Arman focused on Fragmentations on panel and Fragments (drawings and sculptures), along with the appearance of Overlays. To this day, Arman is represented in all international museums. He passed away at the end of the year that just went by, further impoverishing the world of art.
Ben:
Born in Naples on July 18, 1935, Ben spent four years in Italy. In 1939, with his mother, he fled the war to Switzerland and then to Turkey. In 1945, once the war ended, he moved to Egypt. After several more journeys, his mother decided to settle in Nice, where she had long-time friends. From 1955 to 1958, Ben trained while spending his days on the Promenade des Anglais discussing painting, philosophy, and politics. Through his encounters, he met Arman and Yves Klein. His creativity knew no bounds, and he even participated in the Youth Club to deliver a talk on “Everything and Nothing,” during which he sold his shirt to Arman. From 1958 to 1960, he considered the backbone of his work to be that all art must provide a shock and be new. Between 1960 and 1963, the notion of appropriation dominated his work. He also became interested in theater and participated in the Free Expression Festival in 1965, marking the beginning of happenings in France. From 1966, his work turned towards the link between life and art. This led to a period in Berlin, work with young artists from Nice, and a new direction in his work around ethnicities. A reevaluation of his role as an artist in society led him to write and reflect on what he really was and what art is. The artist lives on the heights of Nice on the road to Saint Pancrace. There is no need to give the exact address, his home is recognizable among thousands. It is a work of art in itself. It is covered with a multitude of objects, and the garden serves as an open-air museum for some of the artist’s works. A must-see!
This presentation is far from exhaustive. I could have added Henri Matisse, Louis Bréa, or even Carle Van Loo, but I chose to focus on more contemporary figures. It is up to you to bring to us your artistic knowledge on “Niçois” perhaps less known but surely talented.
