Earlier this year, we got thinking about our own venerable and beloved senior citizens in Cotignac, during a lunch at our favourite spot in the village, Le Temps de Pose.
Whilst enjoying our chilled soup and salad we kept seeing Armand Avril scurrying from his atelier opposite us on the Place de la Mairie, like a worker ant, carrying large pieces of wood and other ‘Objets Trouvé’ which he uses to create his ‘assemblages’.
He’s as old as Methuselah we mused. But how old he could be...?
So the next time he scuttled past La Galerie we asked him. Only to be told he was born in 1926. Exactly the same year as Queen Elizabeth!
The Queen’s birthday is in April and wouldn’t you know the French word for April is of course… Avril!
Life is all about connections.
Known for his childlike paintings, Armand’s career took a turn when he embarked on a year’s sojourn in Africa in 1960. There he met the painter Jean Arène who introduced him to the village of Cotignac in the Var and to Louis Pons, painter and assembler of objects. Later, Armand discovered the work of Gaston Chaissac and Kasimir Malevich.
Upon his return to France, Avril settled in Cotignac and gave a new direction to his creations.
From that point, he started creating “montages” by assembling various salvaged objects onto wooden panels. Champagne corks, clothes pegs, piano keys, used gun cartridges, pieces of wood, fabric or cardboard, are sawn, cut, organized, glued and painted. Giving birth to lively, colourful and often humorous works.
Armand is fit as a flea and we can only hope to be as active at his age and indeed reach the age of 96, never mind in such fine fettle!
Our Living Legend
In homage to our own Cotignac ‘Royalty’ we curated a collection of the very montages we saw Avril creating
Building from our success on 1stDibs, La Galerie and Galerie Bis are excited to announce the opening of another virtual gallery on ARTSY and we could not think of a better way to inaugurate it than with an Avril show: Armand Avril, Montages and Assemblages, Vive la Couleur!
Enjoy armand’s artworks at: Avril Virtual Gallery on Artsy
Over the year we will be using ARTSY to mount exhibitions of artists both past and present, local and international.
This virtual world allows us to share our passion of art with you, along with the treasures and artists we discover - even if you are not able to visit La Galerie and Galerie Bis in person.
Do sign up to receive regular updates on what we are doing. We look forward to seeing you all there………