Gérard Coste (born 24 March 1939), is a French painter and diplomat.

Biography

Gérard was born in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, France on 24 March 1939. His parents owned a pharmacy in Apt, which was destroyed during the bombing in 1942. From 1943 to 1944 he attended Apt School of Sisters, before they moved to

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

, where his parent bought another pharmacy. He started studying at Saint Denis School there until 1949. Then he attended St. Joseph College in Avignon from 1949 until 1956. He was a graduate of the

Sciences Po Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

(Paris)(1963 – 1964),

HEC Paris HEC Paris () is a business school and ''grande école'' located in Jouy-en-Josas, a southwestern outer suburb of Paris, France. It offers Bachelor, MiM, MSc in International Finance, MBA, EMBA, executive education, professional developm ...

(1959 – 1962) and the

École nationale d'administration The (; ENA; ) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by the then Provisional Government of the French Republic, provisional chief of government Charles de Gaulle and principal co-author of the Constitution of France, 1958 Constitution M ...

(National School of Administration) (1958 – 1959). After finishing universities he began his diplomatic career in

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

in 1964, later serving in Japan. Being in Japan, he spent two years studying painting with the master Toshimitsu Imai, being Imai's only Western student. Coste had his first one-man exhibition in 1975 in Japan. He has had several shows in France and Japan and exhibiting his works regularly in Japan, the United States, Singapore and Thailand. He is the nephew-in-law of the late Czech painter

Otakar Kubín Otakar Kubín (; 22 October 1883 – 17 October 1969) was a Czech painter and sculptor. Biography Kubín was born in Boskovice, Moravia, Austria-Hungary. His works are mainly associated with Impressionism. He was influenced by such artists as V ...

whom lived nearby, close to Marseille. From 1978 until 1983 he was a cultural advisor to Japan, and made several exhibitions in Tokyo and in the provinces. Later he became a Director of French cultural centers and institutes abroad at the Ministry of the EI(1983 – 1985). From 1993 until 1995 he served as an ambassador to Singapore, where he also made several exhibitions. Later he became an ambassador to Bangkok(1996- 1999), where he made a publication ''"Darkness and light"''. He pursued both careers, diplomatic and artistic together. He says : ''"I always had an urge to flee my own culture and a prearranged destiny''". He retired in 2003, the date on which he set up his painting studio in Bangkok.

Personal life

Coste married Naomi (a Japanese-American model he met in Japan) in 1974.

Main Assignments

* Communication Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1985-1987 * General Consul in Los Angeles 1988-1993 * Ambassador of France in Singapore 1993-1995 * Ambassador of France to Thailand 1995-1999 * General Consul in San Francisco 2000-2003

Honors

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

of the France's

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

of the France's

Ordre national du Mérite The (; ) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ...

. * Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand * Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Order of The White Elephant of Thailand

Publications

* "Golden Skies" 1992. Limited Edition * "Windows" 1995.Limited Edition * "Elsewhere" 2005. Limited Edition * "En Dedans" 2010. * "Lami", a novel, 2010. * "Ressac", 2011. * "Abyme", 2012. "Ailleurs",2012. "Crypte", 2013. "Avatar",2014.

References

External links

*
numilog.com
library {{DEFAULTSORT:Coste, Gerard 1939 births French abstract painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male painters 21st-century French painters 21st-century French male artists Diplomats for France Living people Officers of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite