Sam Szafran

Sam Szafran (born 19 November 1934 in Paris) is a French artist.

Biography

Sam Szafran was born in Paris in 1934, a son of Polish Jewish immigrants. He grew up in the Quartier des Halles. Hidden in the countryside and later in Switzerland during World War II he returned to Paris in 1951, after four years in Australia. Following abstract beginnings at the Atelier de la Grande Chaumière, where the young artist studied under Henri Goetz, he discovered pastel in the early 1960s. During the postwar period he encountered as well Jean Arp, Yves Klein, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Joan Mitchell, Alberto Giacometti, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Martine Franck. In 1963 he married the Swiss-born Lilette Keller, their son Sebastien was born the following year. After spending several years in studios provided by their friends, they finally moved to Malakoff in 1974.[1]

Artwork

The discovery of the pastel was of great significance to Sam Szafran. Since the beginning of the 1960s he has been using the pastel chalks of Pastels Roché which were fabricated based on the family recipe by the three sisters of the Roché-family at the Maison du Pastel. From now on this technique has been dominating his work either alone or in combination with charcoal or watercolor. At the same time the themes of his paintings intensified as well.[2] The numerous series of staircases, jungle-like greenhouses and studios ("Ateliers")are the result of his obsession with mastering perfectly the somewhat anachronistic technique of pastel. By focusing on figurative themes and technical precision this kind of painting contradicts most of the abstract and gestural tendencies of contemporary art; this is an art beyond concepts, trends and ephemeral styles. As a result, the artist’s work has rarely been seen in exhibitions and almost exclusively in his home country and in Switzerland.

The artist's studio

In 1993, he received the Grand Prix des Arts de la Ville de Paris.

First retrospectives were organized by Jean Clair and Jean-Louis Prat in 1999 and 2000 at the Fondation Pierre Gianadda in Martigny/ Switzerland and at the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence.

In 2008, two of his pastels were shown at the exhibition Mystery and Glitter. Pastels in the Musée d'Orsay at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

In 2011, he received the third Prix Piero Crommelynck.

Exhibitions

External links

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Vgl. Jean Clair, Sam Szafran, Genf 1996.
  2. ↑ Vgl. Daniel Marchesseau, Le Pavillon Szafran, Fondation Pierre Gianadda, Martigny, 2005.
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