Arman,
(Armand Fernandez)
1928–2005
One of the founders of the New Realists movement
Arman breaks down, cuts up, and accumulates whatever falls into his hands — that is his basic principle.
He even draws on the emblems of classical masterpieces to rebuild and recombine them.
The “outrages” he inflicts on the Louvre’s Venus Genitrix and the Diana of Versailles are perfect examples.

M.A.K. Galerie is exhibiting two rare “Transculptures”: Venus Labyrinthe de l’Amour and Engrediane, along with a curated selection of works that spans 40 years of creation.

Arman is an aesthete.

He loves:

— Music, to the point of drowning violins (Violon noyé, 1972) or subjecting them to violence (Violon Coupé III, 1994)

— Painting: he accumulates it, lets tubes flow, and watches materials assemble (Accumulation de flacons de vernis et coulées rouge et argent, 1968-1969).

In his innovative approach, Arman fixes collections of objects in time, accumulates elements of everyday life, and succeeds in transforming them into unprecedented, museum-worthy works of art.

— Literature also inspires him: he creates an accumulation of shoes (More Cinderellas, 1995), a nod to Cinderella from the tales of Grimm and Perrault.

As early as 1964, newly mastering plexiglass, the artist produced a work in which he managed to capture mercury beads, creating something entirely novel.

This creation is particularly sensitive to light effects, so its appearance is in constant transformation.

The energy it radiates captivated the director of the Carnegie Institute Museum. He presented it at the International Exhibition of Contemporary Art in Pittsburgh.
Sidney Janis fell under its spell and acquired it for his New York gallery.
Forty years later, it finds itself in Paris, at M.A.K. Galerie.