JEAN DE GASPARY (1938-)
ROTOCULTEUR, 1965, oil on canvas, 130 x 162 cm, signed
Jean de Gaspary was born in 1938. Living and working in Paris, he studied painting and architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts before launching his career in 1960 with a major exhibition at the Galerie Bernheim-Jeune. Although no precise inventory of the works presented at that time is currently available, it is known that his creations were displayed alongside Cézanne's pastels, which had been rediscovered after the Second World War. Michel Dauberville, heir to the gallery, then opened a section dedicated to "young painting" within the family business. Charmed by Gaspary's oil paintings and watercolors, he included the artist in the group exhibition entitled "Paysages" (Landscapes) in 1962. Two years later, in 1964, the gallery dedicated a solo exhibition to him entitled "Mains géantes" (Giant Hands). Aurélien Jeauneau's eponymous gallery presents several works reflecting contemporary crises and societal shifts: The Helicopter (1966) and The Tank (1967) echo the intensification of bombing in Vietnam, while The Astronaut (1968) alludes to the Cold War and the space race among the major powers. Associated with the School of Paris, the artist developed a modern aesthetic tinged with expressionism. In 1971, critic Georges Peillex praised the monumentality of an art that knew no half-measures. Its compositional architectural order, as well as its chromatic harmonies, testifies to the breadth of his artistic meditation. His career is also marked by significant events: in 1965 he participated in the 4th Paris Biennale, his work was exhibited at the Galerie l'Entracte in Lausanne (1971), and his pieces were included in the Centre Pompidou's collections for the "Ateliers d'aujourd'hui" exhibition (1977). He continued his career by participating in about ten more exhibitions. Despite numerous murals that make him the most represented artist on the walls of the capital, as well as a vast body of drawings and oil paintings, no monograph has yet been devoted to his work. To fill this gap, Aurélien Jeauneau will soon organize the first solo exhibition of Jean de Gaspary's work.
