Roger Bissière

Born in 1886 in Villeréal, Roger Bissière grew up in a family of notary. Thereby, he studied law but quickly decided to leave this field and move to Alger where he worked as Assistant of the Orientalist painter: Rochegrosse. When he came back, he joined Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux and then Gabriel Ferrier's workshop at Ecole nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He settled down in Paris and exhibited his first works at Salon des artistes français. After having visited London and Rome, he became a journalist for several news digests including Le Voltaire and Paris-Midi. He published articles but also funny drawings.

During World War I, he joined the Red Cross front but was sent back to due to an accident. He exhibited with George Braque, Juan Gris and André Lhote. He wrote many books on artists and movements. His own work was yet to be acknowledged, he was able to do his first personal exhibition at Paul Rosenberg Gallery, in only 1921. Following this, he became a professor, founder of the "Les Castors de Montsouris" association, with which he built a house and participated in the International exhibition of Arts and Techniques in Paris.

During late 30's, he moved to Boissiérette with his son. During the war, he stopped painting and participated in several cultural and personal projects. Then in the 40's, he rediscovered the taste for artistic creation which led him to experiment with other mediums and techniques such as fabric and clothes. After an operation, the artist tried out small format paintings, in his hospital bed.

Roger Bissière received several awards including the grand prix national des Arts and participated in several international events such as Dokumenta in Kassel and the 2nd Biennial of Sao Paulo in his career. Two years before his death, he received a special honorary mention at the Venice Biennale.