Claude Gilli (French, 1938-2015), Sur La Plage

Claude Gilli (French, 1938-2015).

Sur La Plage.

Mixed media construction.

Signed `Gilli’ (on the reverse).

13 x 34.1/4 in. (33 x 86.7 cm.).

One of the prominent exponents of the Ecole de Nice and considered to be the only real French pop artist along with Martial Raysse. He was born in Nice on September 15, 1938. He attended the school of decorative arts in the city, where he met the same Raysse. In 1958 with the latter and Albert Chubac, he was part of a collective exhibition the "Laboratoire 32", at the gallery of Ben Vautier.

In the 1960s, Gilli collaborated in the creation of the Nouveau Réalisme movement and was one of the most active exponents. In recent years, he has developed the first set of relief panels, made of carved wood (with the blessing of Arman, giving him an electric saw). His dedication to art is such that in the New Year's Eve of 1962, he burned almost everything he had produced.

In the following years, under the influence of American Pop Art, his subjects abandoned the frame, with the first "collate”, a mixture of sculpture and painting. He experiments with the abandonment of colour, with "phantom" plates made of transparent plexiglass, and finally the use of snail shells for the creation of sculptures. He died in June 2015 and will be remembered as an important figure in French Nouveau Réalisme and Pop Art.

This object is eligible for a Certificate of BADA Provenance