James Coignard (1925-2008) French, Carborundum Etching on Paper. An Artist Proof from an edition of 75 made in 1986 entitled "Mozart." Shows a red triangle over a black and white background with lines, script, and two faces of the composer. Signed and titled along bottom in pencil. Labels on reverse with information, as well as a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist.  

Overall Size: 25 x 29 in. 

Sight Size: 17 1/2 x 22 in. 

#5324 

James Coignard was born in Tours, France in 1925. He was interested in both art and mathematics from a young age, but after his family moved to Paris in his teens he became more interested in art galleries and the “bouquinistes” (booksellers) on the banks of the Seine. His grades and output suffered during World War II, and his admission to the École des Beaux-Arts was denied. He began to work for the tax office in Langeais, where he met and became an apprentice of the painter Marchand des Raux, painting the landscape of Touraine after the school of Cézanne, van Gogh, and Gauguin. In 1948 he began to attend evening classes at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Nice, and spent several years afterwards developing an abstract style that relied on technical and geometric motifs coupled with the use of vibrant primary colors, incorporating collage and other mediums. His first solo exhibition was at a gallery in Nice in 1955, which led him to study printmaking and etching throughout the late 50s. By the early 60s he was exhibiting his paintings, etchings, and sculptures internationally, and he moved to a home studio in Antibes to find inspiration and relief from the anxiety caused by the attention he was receiving. Some of his most recognizable works are his carborundum etchings, using a process pioneered by Henri Goetz that he first started experimenting with in the early 1970s. By the 1980s his work was included in countless corporate and private collections, as well as over two dozen museums including the Guggenheim in New York and the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, and a collection of his glass and bronze sculptures was held in the Museo del Vetro in Venice. He spent much of the 80s living abroad in Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States, where he spent three years in New Orleans. Many of his later works were compiled into books along with poetry by a variety of authors, creating Expressionist and abstract works that compliment both mediums. After suffering a stroke in the late 1990s his output lessened, but he continued to work up until his death on March 7th, 2008 at a retreat in Mougins.