Paul Ackerman
Iași, Romania, 1908 - Parigi, 1981
As he himself said: "I am first of all a painter of the unconscious. I seek everything that can free it. I also happen to paint my dreams"
He arrives in Paris very young, together with his family. After studying Law and Letters, he became passionate about painting and executed works of Expressionist tendency.
From 1936 to 1939 he attended the Académie Leger. In 1940, being a Jew, he was forced to flee the capital; he took refuge in Sain-Tropez where he met Bonnard, whose art changed the vision of the novice.
In 1942 he hid at Aix-les-Bains and continued to paint, especially landscapes of Savoy. In these years of exile his painting became intimate: women in makeup and many nudes. He often uses crayon, oil on paper and sometimes paints in newspapers.
In 1945 he returned to Paris, met Atlan and discovered Jacques Villon’s painting.
Ackerman privileges the construction, the pyramidal vision and wonders about the Cézannian line. This period (1949-1953) is called "des Roseaux". Lyricism is expressed through a palette of faded greens, pale greys, ochre and silvery whites.
In 1947 his first exhibition took place at the Galerie Creuze. He met Dubuffet and Poliakoff.
In 1950 he was awarded the First Prize Pacquement by the Societé des Amis du Musée d'art Moderne.
Between 1950 and 1954, at the time when lyrical abstraction began to take flight, Ackerman performed the series "Soleils". The landscape dissolves slowly. He transcribes a saturated, pure light, suggested by horizontal bands, sometimes undulating, painted in dark tones. The paintings are made in the Atelier of Saint-Tropez overlooking the bay.
Between 1953 and 1959 he developed his "gestural, calligraphic" period during which he shared the stylistic concerns of Japanese painters working in Paris (Sugaï, Tabuchi, Dobashi, Kito, etc.). He draws a lot and often, on wax-coated paper, performs ideograms. As he himself said: "I am first of all a painter of the unconscious. I look for everything that can free him. I also happen to paint my dreams". In 1955 he participated in the Salon Comparaisons and in 1957 at the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles.
From 1960 to 1963 he performed a series of works called "Clairs-obscurs"; in this period he used a lot of gouache and watercolor and created three-dimensional works on polystyrene plates.
In 1962 he exhibited at the Galerie Motte in Geneva and returned to figuration. From 1964 Ackerman presented his paintings in Paris, from Kaganovitch, and in 1966 he set up the large exhibition "Homage to Rembrandt" with 250 drawings and watercolors and 100 paintings.
Between 1965 and 1970 he created a cycle of works inspired directly by the Bible (Approches de l'Agartha). With this theme, which has personal philosophical references, Ackerman’s work becomes visionary. He analyzes the world of night and uses it to evoke dark colors.
In 1970 the Musée Galliera in Paris organised a retrospective of his work.
Since 1970 he has lived and worked at the Abbey of Commelles, made available by the Institut de France.
This is where the cycle "Le voyage de Brueghel" began in 1977.
Main museums where his works are kept:
Paris, Art Moderne de la Ville, BN
Bordeaux, Musée des Beaux-Arts
Kassel, Germany
Ringling, CA, United States
Bibliografia:
Ackerman, by Raymond Cogniat, Fernand Hazan Editor, 1963; Ackerman, Galliera Museum, Paris, 1970; L. Harambourg, L. Ecole de Paris, 1945-1965, Neuchâtel, Ides & Calendes, 1993
© Paul Ackerman, by SIAE 2024
From 1936 to 1939 he attended the Académie Leger. In 1940, being a Jew, he was forced to flee the capital; he took refuge in Sain-Tropez where he met Bonnard, whose art changed the vision of the novice.
In 1942 he hid at Aix-les-Bains and continued to paint, especially landscapes of Savoy. In these years of exile his painting became intimate: women in makeup and many nudes. He often uses crayon, oil on paper and sometimes paints in newspapers.
In 1945 he returned to Paris, met Atlan and discovered Jacques Villon’s painting.
Ackerman privileges the construction, the pyramidal vision and wonders about the Cézannian line. This period (1949-1953) is called "des Roseaux". Lyricism is expressed through a palette of faded greens, pale greys, ochre and silvery whites.
In 1947 his first exhibition took place at the Galerie Creuze. He met Dubuffet and Poliakoff.
In 1950 he was awarded the First Prize Pacquement by the Societé des Amis du Musée d'art Moderne.
Between 1950 and 1954, at the time when lyrical abstraction began to take flight, Ackerman performed the series "Soleils". The landscape dissolves slowly. He transcribes a saturated, pure light, suggested by horizontal bands, sometimes undulating, painted in dark tones. The paintings are made in the Atelier of Saint-Tropez overlooking the bay.
Between 1953 and 1959 he developed his "gestural, calligraphic" period during which he shared the stylistic concerns of Japanese painters working in Paris (Sugaï, Tabuchi, Dobashi, Kito, etc.). He draws a lot and often, on wax-coated paper, performs ideograms. As he himself said: "I am first of all a painter of the unconscious. I look for everything that can free him. I also happen to paint my dreams". In 1955 he participated in the Salon Comparaisons and in 1957 at the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles.
From 1960 to 1963 he performed a series of works called "Clairs-obscurs"; in this period he used a lot of gouache and watercolor and created three-dimensional works on polystyrene plates.
In 1962 he exhibited at the Galerie Motte in Geneva and returned to figuration. From 1964 Ackerman presented his paintings in Paris, from Kaganovitch, and in 1966 he set up the large exhibition "Homage to Rembrandt" with 250 drawings and watercolors and 100 paintings.
Between 1965 and 1970 he created a cycle of works inspired directly by the Bible (Approches de l'Agartha). With this theme, which has personal philosophical references, Ackerman’s work becomes visionary. He analyzes the world of night and uses it to evoke dark colors.
In 1970 the Musée Galliera in Paris organised a retrospective of his work.
Since 1970 he has lived and worked at the Abbey of Commelles, made available by the Institut de France.
This is where the cycle "Le voyage de Brueghel" began in 1977.
Main museums where his works are kept:
Paris, Art Moderne de la Ville, BN
Bordeaux, Musée des Beaux-Arts
Kassel, Germany
Ringling, CA, United States
Bibliografia:
Ackerman, by Raymond Cogniat, Fernand Hazan Editor, 1963; Ackerman, Galliera Museum, Paris, 1970; L. Harambourg, L. Ecole de Paris, 1945-1965, Neuchâtel, Ides & Calendes, 1993
© Paul Ackerman, by SIAE 2024
