Gérard Garouste (born 10 March 1946) is a French

contemporary artist Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art i ...

having the primary field of work as visual and performative domain. Since 1979, he has lived and worked in

Marcilly-sur-Eure Marcilly-sur-Eure (, literally ''Marcilly on Eure'') is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in north-western France. Population See also *Communes of the Eure department The following is a list of the 585 communes of the Eure ...

in Normandy, where he founded an educational and social action group to help children with art calle
La Source
He has been married to designer

Élisabeth Garouste Élisabeth Garouste (born 17 July 1946) is a French interior designer. The daughter of Russian immigrants Salomon and Blima Rochline, she was born Élisabeth Catherine Rochline in Paris, was educated at the and studied interior design at the Éc ...

since 1969.

Biography

Gérard Garouste was born in Paris. He studied at the

École des Beaux-Arts de Paris The (), formally the (), is a French ''grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level fine arts education and training. The art school, which is part of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is located on two sites: Saint-G ...

from 1965 to 1972 in the

atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or vi ...

Gustave Singier Gustave Singier (11 February 1909, Warneton5 May 1984, Paris) was a Belgian abstract art, non-figurative painter active in France as part of the new Paris School of Lyrical Abstraction and the Salon de Mai. Early life He spent his childhood in ...

. It was there he discovered

Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, ; ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, Futurism and conceptual art. He is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Pica ...

. Around this time, he created several works of

scenography Scenography is the practice of crafting stage environments or atmospheres. In the contemporary English usage, scenography can be defined as the combination of technological and material stagecrafts to represent, enact, and produce a sense of plac ...

for his friend, author and director

Jean-Michel Ribes Jean-Michel Ribes (born 15 December 1946, in Paris) is a French playwright, screenwriter, theatre director, film maker and actor. Since 2002 he has been the managing director of the Théâtre du Rond-Point. Between 1982 and 1984 Ribes had directe ...

, notably for the productions of ''Il faut que le Sycomore coule'' and ''Jacky parady''. In 1977, he presented at the

Palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

theater ''Le Classique et l'Indien'', a show he wrote, directed, and decorated for. He would stay with the Palace until 1982 as a scenographer and painter. In 1980, he had his first art show at the Durand-Dessert gallery, showing figurative, mythological, and allegorical paintings. This show brought him national recognition, and then, international. His first international show took place in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1982 at the

Holly Solomon Gallery Holly Solomon Gallery opened in New York City in 1975 at 392 West Broadway in Soho, Manhattan. Started by Holly Solomon - aspiring actress, style-icon, and collector - and her husband Horace Solomon, the gallery was initially known for launching ...

. Others followed, such as those at the

Leo Castelli Leo Castelli ( Krausz; September 4, 1907 – August 21, 1999) was an Italian-American art dealer who originated the contemporary art gallery system. His gallery showcased contemporary art for five decades. Among the movements which Castelli s ...

Gallery in New York and in

Sperone Sperone is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, in the Campania region of southern Italy. Geography The town is bordered by Avella Avella is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. It is re ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He was the only French artist to be invited to the

Zeitgeist In 18th- and 19th-century German philosophy, a ''Zeitgeist'' (; ; capitalized in German) is an invisible agent, force, or daemon dominating the characteristics of a given epoch in world history. The term is usually associated with Georg W. F ...

at Berlin. Institutional recognition came in 1987, at the CAPC of Bordeaux (''Centre d'arts plastiques contemporains de Bordeaux''), where he presented a combination of oils on canvas and acrylics on homespun, and then at the Fondation Cartier. Garouste has executed works and decorations for various endeavors: paintings for the

Élysée Palace The Élysée Palace (, ) is the official residence of the President of France, President of the French Republic in Paris. Completed in 1722, it was built for Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, a nobleman and army officer who had been appointed g ...

, sculptures for

Évry Cathedral Évry Cathedral (; "Évry Cathedral of the Resurrection") is a Roman Catholic church located in the new town of Évry, Essonne, France. The cathedral was designed by Swiss architect Mario Botta. It opened in 1995 and was consecrated and dedicated ...

, the ceiling of the theater at

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

, and for the church of Notre-Dame de Talant, stained glass. In 1989, he did the curtain for the

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...

. An important step for Garouste was the founding in 1991 of the association The Source, which sets itself the task of helping culturally underprivileged young people to achieve personal development through artistic expression. He received an order in 1996 for a monumental work for the

National Library of France National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

mixing painting and wrought iron. Sculpture and engraving were attracting him more and more, as well as illustration for all sorts of writings, from ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'' to the ''

Haggadah The Haggadah (, "telling"; plural: Haggadot) is a foundational Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table fulfills the mitzvah incumbent on every Jew to reco ...

''. In 2001, he presented at the Fondation Cartier ''Ellipse'', an arrangement of canvasses mounted on a construction of his own design. Gérard Garouste was elected on December 13, 2017, to the Academy of Fine Arts to the seat of

Georges Mathieu Georges Mathieu (27 January 1921 – 10 June 2012) was a French abstract painter, art theorist, and member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He is considered one of the fathers of European lyrical abstraction, a trend of informalism. B ...

Selected works

Visual arts

* ''La Mouche'' * ''Ellipse'' at the Fondation Cartier * ''Dante'' (195x130 cm) * ''L'Antipode'', oil on canvas (130x90 cm) * ''Senza titolo'' in the "Terrae Motus" collection, at the

Royal Palace of Caserta The Royal Palace of Caserta ( ; ) is a former royal residence in Caserta, Campania, north of Naples in southern Italy, constructed by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as their main residence as Kingdom of Naples, kings of Naples. The complex ...

Theater

''Le Classique et l'Indien'', 1977

Principal individual shows

* 1988 : ''Gérard Garouste'' at the

Musée national d'art moderne The Musée National d'Art Moderne (; "National Museum of Modern Art") is the national museum for modern art of France. It is located in the 4th arrondissement of Paris and is housed in the Centre Pompidou. In 2021 it ranked 10th in the list of ...

in Paris * 2001 : ''Ellipse'' at the Fondation Cartier * 2002 : ''Kézive ou la ville mensonge'', Daniel Templon Gallery * 2003 : ''Saintes ellipses'' at the Chapelle de la Salpêtrière * 2004 : ''Portraits'', Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris * 2005 : ''La Coupole'' at the

Panthéon The Panthéon (, ), is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, Paris, Latin Quarter (Quartier latin), atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was built between 1758 ...

* 2006 : ''L'Anesse et la Figue'', Daniel Templon Gallery, Paris * 2008 : ''La Bourgogne, la famille et l'eau tiède'', Daniel Templon Gallery, Paris * 2012 : ''Walpurgisnacht'', Daniel Templon Gallery, Paris * 2014 : ''Ineffable Tales'', Daniel Templon Gallery, Paris * 2022 : ''Gérard Garouste'' at the

Centre_Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

, Paris

Decorations

Officer of the 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. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

(2015)http://www.legiondhonneur.fr/sites/default/files/promotion/lh20160101_1.pdf

References

External links

*
Site officiel de l'association La Source
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garouste, Gerard 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male painters 21st-century French painters 21st-century French male artists 20th-century French sculptors 21st-century French sculptors 20th-century French engravers Painters from Paris 1946 births Living people Officers of the Legion of Honour Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Commanders of the Ordre national du Mérite