ARMAN (ARMAND PIERRE FERNANDEZ)

We thank the Arman Studio Archives, New York, for the advice. This work is recorded under the number: APA# 1004.88.001.

Provenance:
- Galerie Ferrero, Nice.
- Purchased from the above by the present owner, since then private collection Switzerland.

Exhibition: Nice 1987, Arman. Rythmes et couleurs. Galerie Ferrero, September - October 1987.

Born in Nice, the son of an antiques dealer and cello player, the artist Armand Pierre Fernandez developed an affinity for music and the art of collecting. He studied at the École Nationale des Arts Décoratifs in Nice and subsequently moved to Paris, where he pursued his art history studies at the École du Louvre. The artist was co-founder of the group Nouveau Réalisme, whose members argued against the ossification within abstract and Informel art and advocated a new approach to the real – seeking a poetic rediscovery of the reality of urban and industrial life.

The violin is a central object in Arman’s oeuvre. He examines the material nature of this instrument and reflects this in the most diverse works (see also Lot 3730). The present work “Fantomatic (Empreintes de violons)” is an excellent example, since he achieves a harmonious ensemble with aesthetic effect, through the simple use of papier-mâché violin replicas leaning against each other.