In 1986, New York’s Marisa del Re Gallery presented a series of bronze “sliced” statues, entitled “Gods and Goddesses”. Arman drew inspiration from the Louvre’s collection of statues, and cast bronzes which he sliced with a saw before putting back together. The series was presented at the Internatio...
In 1986, New York’s Marisa del Re Gallery presented a series of bronze “sliced” statues, entitled “Gods and Goddesses”. Arman drew inspiration from the Louvre’s collection of statues, and cast bronzes which he sliced with a saw before putting back together. The series was presented at the International Contemporary Art Fair the same year. Mythological figures are a recurring theme for the artist. The statue of Hermes, or “Mercury in flight” is depicted in the style of sculptor Jean de Boulogne, also known as Giambologna. The Greek deity, standing on the ball of his left foot, comes with all of his symbols – his caduceus and winged sandals. In the ancient Greek religion, Hermes is the messenger of the gods and the mediator between Olympus and men. The guardian of roads and intersections, he is the god of travellers and traders. He symbolises movement, transition and changes of state.
Arman (Armand Fernandez), born in 1928 in Nice, was a French artist: a painter, sculptor and plastic artist. He studied at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Nice and then at the École du Louvre in Paris. Linked to Yves Klein from 1946 onwards, in 1960 Arman helped to found Pierre Restany’s Nouveau Réalisme (New Realism) group, known as the Nice School. Arman, who signed his works with his first name as a tribute to Van Gogh, decided to abandon the “d” in “Armand” and officially adopted his artist’s signature at an exhibition at Iris Clert in 1958. In response to Yves Klein’s Void, his approach is the starting point for the “Accumulations” and “Angers” which remain the two strands of his appropriation of the object. He participated in many exhibitions in France and abroad. From 1961 onwards, Arman lived and worked in New York, often visiting Nice and Vence. He exhibited regularly in Monaco. Throughout his life, Arman was also an enthusiastic collector of everyday objects (watches, weapons, pens, etc.) and works of art, particularly traditional African art, a field in which he was a highly valued and renowned expert. He died in 2005 in New York.
