Jacques Germain
Parigi, 1915 - 2001
Germain's painting is part of the broad movement of lyrical abstraction that developed in the postwar period. From the very beginning of his career he is fascinated by abstract art.
Jacques Germain was born in Paris in 1915. On the advice of the poet Blaise Cendrars, in 1931 his family enrolled him at the Académie Moderne in Paris, where he was a student of Fernand Léger and Amédée Ozenfant. Shortly thereafter Germain left for the Bauhaus in Dessau, where Jean Leppien recalled seeing this young man arrive who, in the years 1931-32 was following the teachings of Kandinsky and Albers. From 1932 to 1933 Germain resided in Frankfurt, a student of Willy Baumeister at the Kunstgewerbeschule applied arts workshop.
In 1943, during World War I, he was taken prisoner in Germany and upon liberation returned to Paris. In 1946 he met Antonin Artaud and worked alongside him.
From this year on he participated in numerous group exhibitions, especially Salons: Surindépendants (1946-47); Réalités Nouvelles (from 1949), Mai (from 1951); Comparaisons, Grandes et Jeunes d'aujourd'hui, Automne.
In 1947, together with Fautrier, Hartung, Wols, Mathieu, Bryen, Seuphor exhibited at the exhibition "Black and White" organized by Galerie des Deux Isles where, the following year, his first solo show would also take place.
In 1951 he exhibited at Galerie Maeght's "Tendances" show, together with Poliakoff, Pallut, Kelly and Palazuelo; in 1956 he was with Debré at Galerie Michel Warren in Paris. He is invited to the prestigious "Documenta" exhibition in Kassel in 1959.
He is present at the 1977 exhibition "Le Bauhaus" at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville in Paris and participates in the Ecole de Paris exhibitions at Galerie Charpentier.
He has had numerous solo exhibitions in Paris, Frankfurt, Lille, Lausanne, Brussels, Bonn, etc.
Recent solo exhibitions include:
1986 Works from the 1950-60s, Galerie Barbier, Paris
1987 Recent Works, Galerie Barbier, Paris
1988 Works 1950-1960, Galerie Arnoux, Paris
1989 Recent small formats, Galerie Barbier-Beltz, Paris
The artist died in Paris in 2001.
Germain's painting is part of the vast movement of lyrical abstraction that developed in the postwar period. From the beginning of his career he is fascinated by abstract art; this is a rather rare circumstance, since most artists, at least in their early days, started from positions in the figurative sphere. This is probably a consequence of the Bauhaus teaching. The structural elements of Germain's painting remain unchanged over the years, but without performing reiterations. His stroke is characterized by long, oblique, parallel lines linked by short segments crossed to each other. He often uses the knife, the palette knife, creating effects that resemble mosaic tiles.
ome have compared him to the Monet of the Water Lilies period; indeed, André Marc writes: "Jacques Germain's painting represents, with a particular clarity, the Impressionist concept adapted to abstraction. It is based on colorful chords recorded from observation of the play of light, granting no semblance to the reality of things.
From April to August 2006 his works are in demand by the Musée de Luxembourg in Paris for the exhibition "L'envolée lyrique," which is the first detailed and comprehensive exhibition on the theme of lyrical abstraction. The event was accompanied by the publication of a comprehensive catalog of more than a hundred works.
Museums:
Brema - Germany
Losanna - Swiss
Paris, (Centre Pompidou, Musée d’Art Moderne de la ville) - France
Lille (Musée des Beaux Arts) - France
Oslo - Norway
Bergen - Norway
Bibliography:
Raymon Nacenta, La Scuola di Parigi, Istituto Geografico de Agostini, Novara, 1960; L. Harambourg, L’Ecole de Paris, 1945-1965, Neuchatel, Ides & Calendes, 1993; R. Bellini, Atelier Cosmopolita, tradizione e avanguardia, Parigi 1900-1970, Bergamo, Galleria Michelangelo, Galleria d’arte Due Bi, 2005; A.A.V.V., L’envolée lyrique, Parigi, Museé de Luxembourg, 2006.
© Jacques Germain, by SIAE 2023
In 1943, during World War I, he was taken prisoner in Germany and upon liberation returned to Paris. In 1946 he met Antonin Artaud and worked alongside him.
From this year on he participated in numerous group exhibitions, especially Salons: Surindépendants (1946-47); Réalités Nouvelles (from 1949), Mai (from 1951); Comparaisons, Grandes et Jeunes d'aujourd'hui, Automne.
In 1947, together with Fautrier, Hartung, Wols, Mathieu, Bryen, Seuphor exhibited at the exhibition "Black and White" organized by Galerie des Deux Isles where, the following year, his first solo show would also take place.
In 1951 he exhibited at Galerie Maeght's "Tendances" show, together with Poliakoff, Pallut, Kelly and Palazuelo; in 1956 he was with Debré at Galerie Michel Warren in Paris. He is invited to the prestigious "Documenta" exhibition in Kassel in 1959.
He is present at the 1977 exhibition "Le Bauhaus" at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville in Paris and participates in the Ecole de Paris exhibitions at Galerie Charpentier.
He has had numerous solo exhibitions in Paris, Frankfurt, Lille, Lausanne, Brussels, Bonn, etc.
Recent solo exhibitions include:
1986 Works from the 1950-60s, Galerie Barbier, Paris
1987 Recent Works, Galerie Barbier, Paris
1988 Works 1950-1960, Galerie Arnoux, Paris
1989 Recent small formats, Galerie Barbier-Beltz, Paris
The artist died in Paris in 2001.
Germain's painting is part of the vast movement of lyrical abstraction that developed in the postwar period. From the beginning of his career he is fascinated by abstract art; this is a rather rare circumstance, since most artists, at least in their early days, started from positions in the figurative sphere. This is probably a consequence of the Bauhaus teaching. The structural elements of Germain's painting remain unchanged over the years, but without performing reiterations. His stroke is characterized by long, oblique, parallel lines linked by short segments crossed to each other. He often uses the knife, the palette knife, creating effects that resemble mosaic tiles.
ome have compared him to the Monet of the Water Lilies period; indeed, André Marc writes: "Jacques Germain's painting represents, with a particular clarity, the Impressionist concept adapted to abstraction. It is based on colorful chords recorded from observation of the play of light, granting no semblance to the reality of things.
From April to August 2006 his works are in demand by the Musée de Luxembourg in Paris for the exhibition "L'envolée lyrique," which is the first detailed and comprehensive exhibition on the theme of lyrical abstraction. The event was accompanied by the publication of a comprehensive catalog of more than a hundred works.
Museums:
Brema - Germany
Losanna - Swiss
Paris, (Centre Pompidou, Musée d’Art Moderne de la ville) - France
Lille (Musée des Beaux Arts) - France
Oslo - Norway
Bergen - Norway
Bibliography:
Raymon Nacenta, La Scuola di Parigi, Istituto Geografico de Agostini, Novara, 1960; L. Harambourg, L’Ecole de Paris, 1945-1965, Neuchatel, Ides & Calendes, 1993; R. Bellini, Atelier Cosmopolita, tradizione e avanguardia, Parigi 1900-1970, Bergamo, Galleria Michelangelo, Galleria d’arte Due Bi, 2005; A.A.V.V., L’envolée lyrique, Parigi, Museé de Luxembourg, 2006.
© Jacques Germain, by SIAE 2023
