Abstract Art

James Coignard was born in Tours, France in 1925.
Studied in the evenings at Ecole des Arts Decoratifs in Nice, then as an apprentice to the painter Marchand des Raux in an attempt to achieve his goal of becoming a full time artist. Starting to exhibit in 1949, Coignard won first prize Hors Concours aux Arts Decoratifs in 1950. He continued to show his works moving to the international market during the 50's and 60's. At that time he was frequenting Braque, Matisse, Chagall; He is especially renowned for his use of vibrant primary colors and for his technical versatility. In both his mixed media canvases and his works on paper, Coignard also achieves a deep, heavy texture that is another distinctive trait of his art. He is also an accomplished sculptor as well, working with such varied materials as bronze and glass.

In 1968, Coignard was introduced to the carborandum etching process. He was intrigued by the process as it enabled him to "multiply a work and still keep the originality that inhabits my paintings".
He has become a master of this process and his works have achieved international acclaim.
Coignard is a compulsive worker, producing entire series of paintings and prints in intense sessions that sometimes last up to three months. His methods are meticulous, in the tradition of the Old Masters. He starts each piece with dramatic swashes of blue, red, yellow, green and black that are his signature colors.
Today James Coignard lives in Vallauris France.

Solo Exhibitions

1991 Galerie Couleurs du Temps Geneva Switzerland
1992 La Galerie Oslo Norway
1992 Obere Galerie Berlin Germany
1993 Galerie Goetz Stuttgart Germany
1993 Nahan Gallery New York USA
1994 Palais de l'Europe Menton France
1994 Cynthia Bourne Gallery London UK
1994 Die Galerie Bonn Germany
1995 Galerie Hansen Bonn Germany
1997 Galerie Puri Kassel Germany
1997 Galerie E.C.A France Paris France
1998 Château de Tours Touts France

Group Exhibitions

Dublin Museum Dublin IRL
British Museum London UK
Modern Art Museum St Francisco USA
Bibliothèque Nationale Paris France
International Art Fair Basel Switzerland
Phoenix Art Museum Arizona USA
Musée de Jérusalem Jerusalem Israël
1996 Galerie Couleurs du Temps Geneva Switzerland


Museum Collections:

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, New York
British Museum, London, England
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France
Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California
High Museum, Atlanta, Georgia
La Jolla Art Center, La Jolla, California
Kunst Museum, Soest, Germany
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Musée de Saint Denis, France
Museum of San Diego, San Diego, California
Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix. Arizona
Musée de Dimona, Israel
Bibliotheque Municipale, Nice, France
Bibliotheque Municipale, Tours, France
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Luxembourg
Musée de l'Abbaye de Sainte Croix, Les Sables d'Olonne, France
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey
University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
University of Alabama, Alabama
University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida
University of the South, Sewanee, Georgia
Syracuse University, New York
Colgate University, New York, New York
Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Historical Society of Montana, Montana
Lincoln University, Oxford, Pennsylvania
Glassboro State College, New Jersey
Dublin Museum, Dublin, Ireland
New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana
Finch College, New York, New York
Wilmington College, Ohio
Jamestown College, North Dakota
Eastern Montana College, Montana
Belhaven Collection, North Carolina
Jackson and Mississippi College, Mississippi
Fulton Montgomery College, New York
Northwood Institute, Michigan
South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Museum of Contemporary Art, Montreal, Canada


Biography from Association Les Amis de James Coignard:
www.jamescoignard.net/en/james-coignard/biography

James Coignard, painter, ceramist, sculptor and etcher, was born in Tours in 1925. At the age of 23 and after a brief career in the French administration, he discovers the landscapes of the French Riviera and decides to study at Arts décoratifs in Nice. Four years later, he quits his job at the administration to commit himself entirely to his artistic career. The encounter with Paul Hervieu in 1950 is decisive. His collaboration with gallery Hervieu made him known in artistic circles, nationally and internationally and then particularly in Scandinavia. At the beginning of his career, art critics label James Coignard as a member of Ecole de Paris. Soon, his painting and ceramic distances themselves from those of his colleagues and he goes it alone. At the beginning of the sixties, he starts to work with glass but the technical turning point occurs in 1968 when his friend Henri Goetz discovers a new etching technique, using carborundum. Etching then becomes central in his work. At the same time, his career takes off internationally. He travels a lot, especially to Sweden and USA where he lives during a few years. 1978, James Coignard participates in the creation of the etching studio Pasnic, with which he starts a long collaboration. During the eighties, he shares his time between Paris and the French Riviera and takes an interest in artist’s books and publishing issues. He exhibits now all over the world, and is acknowledged as one of the greatest painter-etchers of his time. Until his decease in 2008, James Coignard was a prolific painter, sculptor and etcher and leaves behind an immense work.

1925
Birth in Tours, France.
1926 - 1942
His family moves to Paris where he studies.
1943 - 1948
He works at the French financial administration in Tours, France.
1948
Mutation to Villefranche-sur-Mer. He takes classes at Arts décoratifs in Nice.
1949
First exhibition in Beaulieu-sur-mer
. Encounters Braque, Matisse, Chagall.
1950
He obtains 1er price without competing at Arts décoratifs in Nice, France.
Decisive meeting with Paul Hervieu. Starts a long collaboration with gallery Hervieu in Nice.
Several exhibitions in Sweden.
1952
He leaves his job at the administration and Nice for Paris.
Encounter with Max Papart. Creation of a ceramic studio in Paris. First exhibitions in Scandinavia.
1953
Exhibition at Salon d’automne in Paris.
1954
Travels to Denmark.
1956
James Coignard marries Mireille Poupart and moves to Beaulieu-sur-Mer, where he creates a studio.
He works exclusively with Gallery Hervieu in Nice.
Exhibition at the museum of Malmö in Suède.
1958
Travels to Spain where he discovers the work of Clavé.
He stops ceramic.
1959
Birth of his daughter Pascale.
Atlan, Christine Boumeester, Goetz and Max Papart meet in his studio in Beaulieu-sur-Mer.
1961
He creates glass sculptures at Fucina Degli Angeli, Venice, Peggy Guggenheim Collection.
1962
Birth of his son David.
1963
Birth of his daugh ...

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