Étienne Martin

Étienne Martin , as an artist also under the name: Étienne-Martin (born February 4, 1913 in Loriol-sur-Drôme , Canton Loriol-sur-Drôme , France ; † March 21, 1995 in Paris ) was a French sculptor and object artist and Artist of Art Informel and Individual Mythologies .

life and work

Étienne Martin studied from 1929 to 1933 at the École des Beaux-Arts in Lyon . There he met Marcel Michaud (1898–1958), the writer and director of the “ Galerie d'avant-garde ” in Lyon. Martin moved to Paris in 1934 and studied and worked in the workshop of Charles Malfray at the Académie Ranson , where he befriended the painters Roger Bissière , Jean Le Moal , Jean Bertholle , Alfred Manessier , Stahly Zelman , Véra Pagava and the sculptor François Stahly . In 1938 and 1939 he exhibited as a member of the artist group " Témoignage ", which had been founded by Marcel Michaud in 1936 in Lyon.

Martin came into German captivity during World War II and was released in 1941. He stayed in Oppède in 1942 with Stahly Zelman and in the company of the architect Bernard Zehrfuss , then went to Dieulefit from 1943 to 1944 , where he made friends with the writer Henri-Pierre Roché . He then lived for some time in Mortagne-au-Perche in Normandy . After returning to Paris in 1947, he lived with Roché, met Constantin Brâncuși and Georges I. Gurdjieff and studied Far Eastern spiritual exercises and Daoism .

In 1954, Étienne Martin began the series of " Demeures " ( "dwellings" ) in 1954 . The "Demeures" made him known worldwide. In 1964 he took part in documenta III in Kassel , and in 1966 he received the grand prize for sculpture at the 33rd Venice Biennale . At documenta 5 in 1972 Martin was exhibited as a main representative of individual mythologies .

He created numerous large sculptures with organic and baroque shapes, expansive sculptures and objects. From 1968 to 1983 he was a professor of sculpture at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In 1971 he became a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts . In 1984 a comprehensive retrospective of all of his “Demeures” took place at the Center Pompidou in Paris.

Literature and Sources

documenta III. International exhibition; Catalog: Volume 1: Painting and Sculpture; Volume 2: Hand Drawings; Industrial design, graphics; Kassel / Cologne 1964
Exhibition catalog: documenta 5. Survey of Reality - Imagery Today ; Catalog (as a file folder) Volume 1: (Material); Volume 2: (list of exhibits); Kassel 1972

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Martin, Etienne
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Étienne-Martin (stage name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	French sculptor and object artist
DATE OF BIRTH	February 4, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH	Loriol-sur-Drôme , Canton of Loriol-sur-Drôme , France
DATE OF DEATH	March 21, 1995
Place of death	Paris , France