ARTIST
FERNANDEZ ARMAN
Art at the Plaza
Fernandez Arman - "African Spoons"
Arman (born Armand Pierre Fernandez; 1928–2005) was a French-American artist working in painting, sculpture, and assemblage. He challenged consumer society and blurred the boundary between art and everyday objects. His monumental works and international breakthrough made him a central figure in contemporary art during the second half of the 20th century.
Background & Education
- Born in Nice in 1928, the son of an antiques dealer and cellist. Already as a child he showed great talent for painting and drawing.
- He studied at the École Nationale des Arts Décoratifs in Nice and later art history at the École du Louvre in Paris.
- In 1957, he adopted the artist’s name “Arman” after a misprint, partly as a tribute to Van Gogh, who also signed with his first name.
Artistic expression & style
- Arman is best known for his “Accumulations”, in which he collected large quantities of similar everyday objects – from clocks to instruments – and presented them as artworks, often encased in plexiglass or resin.
- His “Poubelles” (the French word for rubbish bins) instead presented collections of trash and discarded objects – often in a commentary on consumer society.
- He also experimented with the destruction and reconstruction of objects in series such as Colères (Rages) and Coupes / Combustions, where objects were cut or burned and then reassembled as sculptural works.
Public works
- Arman created public sculptures around the world, often on a monumental scale: for example Long Term Parking – an 18-metre-high tower of cars in concrete.
- Other important works include Hope for Peace (1995) in Beirut – a 32-metre-high monument built from recycled military vehicles.
- Several works are also found in Paris: among them L’Heure de tous (a clock accumulation) at Gare Saint-Lazare and Vénus des Arts, a bronze statue decorated with musical instruments.
- He is represented in museums and public collections worldwide, including the Centre Pompidou (Paris), MoMA (New York), Tate Gallery (London), and the Hirshhorn Museum (Washington, D.C.).