Ecole de Nice

Martial Raysse

Born in 1936 in Golfe Juan, he studies litterature, and turns himself towards painting. In a few years, he gets to be one of the Riviera best abstract artists. His work takes benefits of a pretty high listing when he raises all into questions, fascinated by the pure beauty of plastic.

He looks at all the shop windows, at every department store, until he can piece together a shop, with its inflatable seals, deck chairs, and nice looking girls wearing bikinis.

Afterwards, he changes some pictures, some objects. He adds neon tubes to Cranach and Ingres, draws fluorescent lips to a model and starts new creations with neon tubes.

Raysse will get famous with his combinations on canvas, his assemblies in space made of paintings, photos, wood, iron and neon tubes.

Raysse will achieve in the biennial of Venise, in 1966, the price reserved to artists older than 45 years old.