Jean Fautrier

Jean Fautrier was born in Paris in 1898. He studied art at the Royal Academy, then at the Slade School in London. In 1920 he returns to Paris. Influenced by expressionist painting, he will paint with realistic brushwork. His first solo exhibition takes place in 1924.

In 1925, Jean Fautrier becomes a veritable precursor of informel art. He will traverse a period of reflection in which he will qualify for "season of hell".

During the second world war, Jean Fautrier will be an active resistance fighter. He will embark upon a series of collages using various materials, oil painted designs on paper. These works will constitute « Hostages » and "Massacres", a collection of sensitive portraits where the artist wants to capture the memory of the victims.

In the 50’s, his work becomes abstract. He receives the first prize at the biennale of Venice in 1960.
Jean Fautrier died in 1963 in Catenay-Malabry in France. A retrospective was dedicated to him at the Gianadda de Martigny Foundation in Switzerland in 2005.