Pierre Boffin

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Pierre Boffin (born November 30, 1907 in Aachen , † 1992 in Voerde ) was a German-French painter . He is regarded as a representative of expressive realism and, because of the work ban in the 1940s, belongs to the group of the “ lost generation ”.

Life

Pierre Boffin, actually Hugo Joseph Winz, is the son of his mother from Verviers, France, and his father from the Black Forest. He takes up the family name Boffin for his painterly career. Like many of his colleagues, Boffin was unable to work under National Socialism. Later in the war he was taken prisoner of war in Attichy, France. There he befriends the painter August Phillip Henneberger. After the war, Boffin was hired by the Americans as the editor of a prisoner of war magazine. During this time he also worked as a writer and editor. In 1943 his short story "Der Schmied vom Ulex" was published. After the war he lived in Belgium, France and the Netherlands for a long time and devoted himself to painting. He initially worked as an autodidact and then became a student of Antoni Clavé in Paris. There he attended the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs de Paris , where Fernand Léger and Leon Dabo also worked. Boffin lived and worked in Paris for a few years. His second teacher was the Dutchman Henry ten Holt , he attended his painting class in Bergen. During this time, Boffin developed the sovereign mastery of his rich language of colors. the scripture Theodor Seidenfaden reports in his appreciation of Boffin on the work with me in Altea.

Boffin had his first exhibition after the war in Paris in 1947. The exhibition took place in the Salon des Indépendants . This was the first proof of his commitment, his artistic quality, as well as the attention he generated with his expressive realism. As a German-Frenchman, Boffin also had a special role in the emerging Europe of the post-war period.

For Boffin, this exhibition marked the beginning of a creative and exhibition period that lasted over four decades. 1952 to 1970 further exhibitions followed in Paris, among others in the " Société Nationale des Beaux Arts ", the "Exposition Decouvrir", in the Salon "Artiste Francais" and the Salon "Teeres Latines". During this time he was represented by the “Main” gallery in Montparnasse, the “Marseilles” gallery in Paris and the “Foyer des Artistes” gallery. For three more years he studied painting, free graphics and set design at the Düsseldorf art school with Professor Sackenheim. During this time, Boffin devoted himself more to his graphic and print talent. Pierre Boffin also took courses in art history with Professor Theissing. This varied and sustained training in painting and the visual arts is reflected in Boffin's entire oeuvre.

His works were presented in London together with Heyssial and Georges Delplanque. Many of his works went into private hands and enabled the artist to make a living, a life that he devoted exclusively to painting. In the 1970s, Pierre Boffin relocated his work to Germany. Exhibitions such as the international art exhibition in Kirn, the "Villa Engelhard" in Düsseldorf or international presentations at the film festivals in Geneva and Strasbourg followed in the years up to the late 1980s.

His graphic work was represented by the “Moderne II” gallery in Brussels, while the painting was presented in the “Schöppe” gallery in Munich and the “Campo” gallery in Antwerp. At the age of 80, Pierre Boffin put together a work presentation for Russia. The highly regarded exhibition took place in Vilnius, Lithuania in 1988.

The artist lived in Voerde on the Lower Rhine until his death, his studio was at Bahnhofstrasse 153. Pierre Boffin died in 1992.

plant

In his early work, Boffin mainly dealt with landscape painting. The capture of a landscape mood and the interpretation of the tense moment of a place, a light occupied him again and again in his work. His main focus, however, is on the human image, the interplay of inner excitement and outward determination. His human representation is not reduced to aesthetic figures. Boffin's characters always found their meaning in the confrontation of their surroundings, a landscape, a group captured in political and passionate moments. Boffin doesn't beautify his characters, he shows them with great curiosity and directness. He uses an expressive, powerful and masterfully composed color language.

The erotic motifs reveal a lustful look that connects in the next moment with deeper symbolism and further meaning of sexuality. In his late work there are also radical arguments with current political events, which he immortalizes directly and demanding on the canvas.

The recording of Boffin's graphic work is still in its infancy. Here, too, the works on hand show that the confident colorist can also express himself excellently in the medium of wood and linocut.

Only a few small-format watercolors are known on the art market. Boffin's works are privately owned. The entire artist's estate with oil paintings, watercolors, drawings and graphics, as well as the press and photo documentation of his exhibitions and originals of his poems as well as dedications from his circle of friends is managed by KunstKontor, Wiesbaden.

Works

  • Scheldt. Oil on panel, 1968
  • Picnic. Oil on canvas, 1978
  • (untitled; landscape), oil on panel, undated
  • Landscape with three houses. Oil on canvas, undated
  • Childhood. 1983
  • Lost cultures. Watercolor, 1987
  • Untitled. Oil on canvas, 1978, 100 × 100 cm, signed
  • People in our small town. Oil on canvas, 1985, 140 × 140 cm, signed
  • untitled. Oil on canvas, undated, 100 × 100 cm, signed
  • Reception of the guest worker in his home country. Linocut, undated, 50 × 60 cm, signed
  • untitled. Oil on canvas, 1978, 100 × 100 cm, signed

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Original documents from the American authorities, in the artist's estate, Wiesbaden
  2. ↑ First published in the exhibition catalog, Pierre Boffin / Wasserschloß Voerde, 1981
  3. ↑ Pierre BOFFIN (1907-1991) at artprice
  4. ↑ [1]  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.kunstdepot-maxen.de  
  5. ↑ [2]
  6. ↑ Historia auction catalog. Retrieved May 10, 2017 .
  7. ↑ http://www.kunstkontor-wiesbaden.com/index.php?id=2&parent=95&subsub=0
  8. ↑ http://www.kunstkontor-wiesbaden.com/index.php?id=2&parent=95&subsub=0
  9. ↑ http://www.kunstkontor-wiesbaden.com/index.php?id=2&parent=95&subsub=0
  10. ↑ http://www.kunstkontor-wiesbaden.com/index.php?id=2&parent=95&subsub=0
  11. ↑ http://www.kunstkontor-wiesbaden.com/index.php?id=2&parent=95&subsub=0
personal data
SURNAME Boffin, Pierre
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-French painter
DATE OF BIRTH November 30, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Aachen
DATE OF DEATH 1992
Place of death Voerde