Georges MATHIEU

French　1921 - 2012

Georges Mathieu was born in 1921 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, on the opposite side of the channel from England, and grew up during the century’s great wars of 1919 to 1939. It was a time when France was conquering, prideful, and invasive, when the French colonial empire still enjoyed an era of prosperity. Born into a family of bankers, Mathieu's intense study of literature, law, and philosophy became the foundation of the high spirituality which marked his later works. He began his artistic journey in 1942, and thereupon abandoned a path in figurative art. In 1947, he held his first public exhibition. It was there that he broke down the geometric abstractions of Marevich and Mondrian and created his first lyrical abstract art. During Charles de Gaulle's presidency, Mathieu was given the title of “Calligrapher of the West” by André Malraux, the first French Minister of Culture.

Mathieu’s exhibition steps were all around the world, most of his private collectors came from Europe or North America. MoMA, Guggenheim Museum, Centre Pompidou, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo and almost hundred museums collect Mathieu’s artworks. His first retrospective exhibition was held in 1963 in Musée de la Ville de Paris, and in Grand Palais, 1978, in Jeu de Paume Museum, 2002. Although, the artist passed away in 2012, he is still favored by the art market, worldwide galleries hold the exhibitions year by year.