ARMAN

Arman – A Key Figure of the Nouveaux Réalistes and the École de Nice

A major figure of the École de Nice and the Nouveaux Réalistes movement, Arman was born in Nice in 1928. He grew up surrounded by objects and assorted treasures in his father’s antique shop. From an early age, he showed a strong artistic vocation and a deep fascination with everyday objects.
He studied at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Nice, then continued his education at the École du Louvre in Paris.

Upon returning to Nice, he met Yves Klein and Claude Pascal at the judo dojo they all attended. This encounter proved to be foundational. The three aspiring artists, passionate about philosophy and spirituality, rejected traditional painting and each pursued a personal path toward transforming the world of art—with the freedom, energy, boldness, and imagination of their twenties.
Together, they laid the groundwork for an artistic avant-garde that would leave a lasting mark on French contemporary art.
They sealed a symbolic pact, assigning themselves different realms: the sky for Klein, the air for Pascal the poet, and the earth and its riches for Arman—choices that would resonate throughout their respective careers.

A Pioneer of the Object in Contemporary Art

Arman, as a visual artist and contemporary sculptor, sought to go beyond painting by focusing on the object and its intrinsic power. At first, he used objects as tools to create marks, traces, and gestures—expressions rooted in his martial arts practice.
Gradually, the object became the central material of his work, reflecting a sociological and critical dimension in response to mass consumer culture. The object evolved into a trace, a memory, and a symbol of both abundance and obsolescence.

Curious and endlessly energetic, Arman spent his entire life renewing his approach while remaining faithful to the central role of the object and to the gestural precision derived from his years of martial training.
He developed a distinctive artistic vocabulary built around used, destroyed, accumulated objects, transformed into art.

Dustbins, Colères (Rages), Combustions, Accumulations, Cuts, Cascades, Fragmentations... these are some of the many gestures through which the artist transcended the object, creating a new aesthetic and a new relationship between art and daily life, while giving the object a lasting sculptural presence.