Arman

Arman, or Armand Pierre Fernandez, was a sculptor, visual artist, and painter. He was born in Nice in 1928 before becoming a naturalised American citizen. He is known for his sculptures of object accumulations, as well as his object destructions.

He was part of the New Realists, an artistic movement he founded alongside artists like Yves Klein and Pierre Restany. Arman passed away in 2005 and is today recognised as a major figure in contemporary art.

Arman from Nice to New York: the life of an innovative artist

Although he is particularly well-known for his sculptures, the French artist was equally talented in painting, drawing, and collage, all of which formed a significant part of his work. Early in his life, it was painting that first introduced Armand Pierre Fernandez to the art world.

Arman began his artistic training at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Nice, where he met Yves Klein, and then continued at the École du Louvre in Paris.

At the start of his artistic career, Arman signed his paintings with his real name, leaving behind a few works signed as Armand Pierre Fernandez before adopting his artist pseudonym. It was only in the mid-1950s that the painter gradually began to shift towards sculpture.

Throughout his life, he created numerous sculptures and other artworks in Paris and around the world, but it was in New York that the French artist eventually settled before acquiring American citizenship.

The object as the central subject of his work

In his work, Arman focused on the status of objects and how our societies tend to (over)consume while simultaneously sanctifying them. The New Realists used everyday objects to create innovative artworks.

It was this interest in objects that led Arman to create his “accumulations”, his most famous works. These pieces, which he referred to as "accumulations", are sculptures made from a large quantity of objects.

It is impossible to focus on a single object as their sheer number overwhelms the viewer: Arman’s accumulations highlight the ephemeral nature of these products. This is a political message from the artist, who questioned the accumulation of objects in our daily lives and our relationship with them.

Object accumulations and fragmented sculptures: the artworks of his life

Among the sculptures of accumulations created by Arman, many pieces – titled or untitled – feature all sorts of objects: glasses, corks, tools, clocks, bronze Buddha heads, dolls, or his accumulations of miniature violins in bronze and resin.

The artist also left his mark on public spaces in nearly a hundred cities around the world by creating monumental works that reflect his primary theme of accumulation.

Destruction and anger are also prominent themes in Arman’s work. Many of his sculptures are cut and fragmented. A bronze sculpture split in two, a violin or wooden chairs shattered... no object escaped Arman’s destructive passion.

Looking for an artwork by Arman? Discover the artist’s gallery on Rise Art.