Jean PIAUBERT - Oil and sand, mixed media on panel

Jean Piaubert : (1900-2002) was a french painter, who was born on January 27th in Feydieu, Le Pian (Gironde) and who died in 2002. In 1918 he started painting, and entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux. He worked in a theatre decoration workshop to earn a living. From 1920 to 1921 he did his military service in Bordeaux. From 1922 to 1930, Piaubert settled in Paris. The beginning was difficult. He attended different accademies like la Grande Chaumière and Montparnasse workshops. At that time his painting is rather classical. The famous fashion designer Paul Poiret, started getting interested in hisworks, and ordered him patterns for clothes, costumes, dresses as well as for the Spanish and English Court. At that time, he met Othon-Friesz, Raoul Dufy and André Derain. His first personal exhibition took place in 1932 at the Galerie Zak. At the end of the 1930's, his works start questioning the representation of reality, when in the meantime his long evolution towards abstraction seems to find confirmation. His first non figurative works, inspired by Magnelli's geometry, are presented in 1946 at the galerie Creuze. From then on, Jean Piaubert is considered alongside with abstract painters, and participated in group manifestations of historical importance, notably at the galerie Denise René. His works are now present in the collections of the Musée national d'art moderne, Paris, Musée d'art moderne et contemporain de Strasbourg, Musée des beaux-arts de Bordeaux, Musée de Grenoble, Musée des beaux-arts de Caen and du Musée Ingres, Montauban.