Martial Raysse

Martial Raysse ( born February 12, 1936 in Golfe Juan, Vallauris, France) is a French painter, sculptor, object and installation artist. Raysse one of the founders of the New Realism.

Life and work

Raysse grew up in Nice. He began to paint even in his earliest youth watercolors. As an artist he is self-taught, he soon turned to after studying literature in 1954 at the University of Nice to painting. At first he was based at the École de Paris, but soon freed himself from the just popular abstract painting. In 1957 he had his first solo exhibition at the gallery Longchamp in Nice. During the opening reception he met Jean Cocteau know. In Paris, Raysse joined a circle of artists, inter alia, the Decollagisten Raymond Hains and Mimmo Rotella, the object artist Arman and Jean Tinguely and Yves Klein Monochromist belonged. In October 1960 Raysse was a founding member of Les Nouveaux Realists under the direction of Pierre Restany.

Looking for a " new realistic imagery " Raysse began experimenting with everyday objects, which he put together to assemblages and ready-mades and arranged in shop windows similar boxes. In the following years he also integrated neon tubes in his works and worked with screen printing, in which he used, among other fluorescent colors. Often he added the pictures more everyday objects such as Umbrellas, shower curtains or inflatable paddling pool at. With parodies of the consumer world, he responded to the emerging Pop Art for the exhibition Dylaby (Dynamic Labyrinth ) Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in 1962 (including with Daniel Spoerri, Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Tinguely and Robert Rauschenberg ) installed Raysse the sensational Environment Raysse Beach, which should bring him international renown. Due to its proximity to the decorative pop art soon American gallery owners were aware of the French. Throughout the 1960s took Raysse part in exhibitions in the United States. From the mid- 1960s experimental short films like Jesus Cola (1967 ) began to turn Raysse. In 1968 he participated in the documenta 4 in Kassel. In the early 1970s returned Raysse back to southern France and joined the group of artists PIG. From this time many object boxes, are mainly concerned with mysticism and magic originated. In 1981 Raysse a major retrospective at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Today Martial Raysse lives in Issignac in the Dordogne. His recent landscape paintings and bronzes sit still deals with mythological themes.

Works (selection)

Exhibitions

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