Francois Aubrun

French, 1934-2009
SOLD
Composition, 1982
SOLD
Sans titre, 1971
SOLD
Composition, 1982
**ADDITIONAL PAINTINGS BY THE ARTIST CURRENTLY IN INVENTORY. PLEASE CONTACT GALLERY FOR DETAILS.**

“The act of painting is a solitary one and one should never fear solitude if one wants to paint. Painting is not a job: it is a path that can only be followed in solitude.” - François Aubrun

In his awareness of this solitude, François Aubrun painted without cease for sixty long years until the end of his life in 2009. From the studio he installed in the church of Saint-Joseph at Le Tholonet, next door to Cézanne's studio and overlooking Mont Sainte-Victoire, he expressed the inexpressible: the transparency of the morning mist “when in the morning it is more heavy than the sky above, and throughout the day all turns around until it is the sky that is heavier.” His art is profoundly Naturalist. He searched the ever-changing sky for its “liquidity”—by which he meant “the feminine, the river, the Seine, the mists on Mont Sainte-Victoire…” in order to evoke all its light, and all its silence.

François Aubrun was born at Boulogne-Billancourt on the 29th of October, 1934. He studied painting at the Section d'Or of the Academy of Paris under the tutelage of the painter Jean Souverbie. It was while travelling around France with his grandfather at the age of fifteen that he first discovered Aix-en-Provence; two years later, he studied sculpture there with Paul-Françoise Niclausse, and in 1951 stayed, drew and painted in the region. In 1953, he entered the preparatory class at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he studied painting, and from 1954 to 1961 he took courses in monumental art and lithography.      

In 1956, he married Martine Bassot, who would give birth to their six daughters, Caroline, Isabelle, Marie-Pascale, Dorothée, Delphine and Segolène. He exhibited his paintings for the first time in 1957 in Paris. In 1960, he took up residence at the estate of Saint Joseph along with his wife, and continued to work there until his death.

He was made a citizen of Honour of the city of Aix-en-Provence in 2007. He taught painting at Luminy, at the University of Marseilles, and then at the National School of Decorative Arts of Nice. He was appointed Director of the École des Beaux-Arts of Toulon from 1974 to 1980, then held tenure as professor of painting at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris until 1992. Wherever he went, he drew and he painted: in Greece in 1966; in Egypt in 1982; in the Bay of the Somme in 2001. He exhibited regularly in France and abroad, notably in the United States, Canada, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy and Spain. François Aubrun died in Paris on the 5th of February, 2009.

Galerie de Varenne, Paris, France, 1957

Galerie Dauphine, Paris, France, 1959

Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France, 1962

Galerie Terre d’Ocre, Toulouse, France, 1965

Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France, 1965

Galerie 9, Paris, France, 1965

Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France, 1967

Galerie 9, Paris, France, 1967

Galerie Le Point, Auxerre, France, 1967

Galerie du Vieux Cagnes, Haut-de-Cagnes, France, 1968

Groupe Animation d’une Cité, Lons-le-Saunier, France, 1968

Canal de Provence, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1968

Galerie Suzanne de Coninck, Paris, France, 1968

Galerie 7, Paris, France, 1969

Foyer du Vieux Colombier, Paris, France, 1969

Galerie Suzanne de Coninck, Paris, France, 1970

Galerie H.B., Aix-les-Bains, France, 1970

Galerie du Guet, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1971

Galerie Henry Meyer, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1971

Galerie Henry Meyer, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1972

Palais des Congrès, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1972

Galerie de La Licorne, Martel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland, 1972

Galerie Henry Meyer, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1973

Galerie La Porte de Jade, Brussels, Belgium, 1973

Galerie La Prévôté, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1975

Galerie des Maîtres Contemporains, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1975

Galerie des Maîtres Contemporains, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1976

La Galerie, Nîmes, France, 1976

La Galerie, Nîmes, France, 1977

Le Couvent Royal, Saint-Maximin, France, 1977

Galerie Eupalinos, Clermont-Ferrand, France, 1977

Palais de la Berbie, Albi, France, 1978

Galerie La Prévôté, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1979

Galerie Artax, Paris, France, 1979

Salle Carnot, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1979

La S.F.I.G.H. Architecture, Paris, France, 1981

Galerie Gilles Corbeil, Montréal, Canada, 1983

Galerie Baudinet, New York, 1983

Galerie Yannick Bideau, Paris, France, 1984

Galerie Baudinet, New York, 1985

Musée Granet, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1985

Galerie Manuel, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1986

German-French Cultural Institute of Tübingen, Germany, 1987

Musée Théodor-Haering-Haus, Tübingen, Germany, 1987

Galerie Jean-Claude Riedel, Paris, France, 1987

Galerie Jean-Claude Riedel, Paris, France, 1989

Galerie Jean-Claude Riedel, Paris, France, 1990

1991 Sarina Tang Fine Art, New York, 1991

Galerie Jean-Claude Riedel, Paris, France, 1992

Galerie Jean-Claude Riedel, Paris, France, 1993

Galerie Jean-Claude Riedel, Paris, France, 1995

Galerie L'Embarcadère, Lyon, France, 1996

Monasterio de Veruela, Zaragoza, Spain, 1997

Galerie L'Embarcadère, Lyon, France, 1997

Galerie Jean-Claude Riedel, Paris, France, 1997

Galerie Jean-Claude Riedel, Paris, France, 1999

Galerie Jean-Claude Riedel, Paris, France, 2001

Galerie L'Embarcadère, Lyon, France, 2001

Galerie Han Art, Montréal, Canada, 2001

Galerie Rouge, Morges, Switzerland, 2002

Galerie Ô Quai des Arts, Vevey, Switzerland, 2004

Galerie Nabokov, Paris, 2005

Galerie Ô Quai des Arts, Vevey, Switzerland, 2005

Chapelle Saint-Joseph, Le Tholonet, France, 2006

Galerie Ô Quai des Arts, Vevey, Switzerland, 2007

La Maison Guerlain, Paris, France, 2008

Galerie Ô Quai des Arts, Vevey, Switzerland, 2009

Galerie Nabokov, Paris, France, 2009

Topography of Art, Paris, France, 2012

Halle Saint Pierre, Paris, France, 2015

Domaine de Kerguéhennec, Bignan, France, 2015

Grand Trouble exhibition, Halle Saint Pierre, Paris, France, 2017

Aubrun: L'absolue peinture, Musée Angladon, Avignon, France, 2019

Dessin politique, Dessin poétique, Musée Jenisch, Vevey, Switzerland, 2019

“The act of painting is a solitary one and one should never fear solitude if one wants to paint. Painting is not a job: it is a path that can only be followed in solitude.” - François Aubrun

In his awareness of this solitude, François Aubrun painted without cease for sixty long years until the end of his life in 2009. From the studio he installed in the church of Saint-Joseph at Le Tholonet, next door to Cézanne's studio and overlooking Mont Sainte-Victoire, he expressed the inexpressible: the transparency of the morning mist “when in the morning it is more heavy than the sky above, and throughout the day all turns around until it is the sky that is heavier.” His art is profoundly Naturalist. He searched the ever-changing sky for its “liquidity”—by which he meant “the feminine, the river, the Seine, the mists on Mont Sainte-Victoire…” in order to evoke all its light, and all its silence.

François Aubrun was born at Boulogne-Billancourt on the 29th of October, 1934. He studied painting at the Section d'Or of the Academy of Paris under the tutelage of the painter Jean Souverbie. It was while travelling around France with his grandfather at the age of fifteen that he first discovered Aix-en-Provence; two years later, he studied sculpture there with Paul-Françoise Niclausse, and in 1951 stayed, drew and painted in the region. In 1953, he entered the preparatory class at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he studied painting, and from 1954 to 1961 he took courses in monumental art and lithography.      

In 1956, he married Martine Bassot, who would give birth to their six daughters, Caroline, Isabelle, Marie-Pascale, Dorothée, Delphine and Segolène. He exhibited his paintings for the first time in 1957 in Paris. In 1960, he took up residence at the estate of Saint Joseph along with his wife, and continued to work there until his death.

He was made a citizen of Honour of the city of Aix-en-Provence in 2007. He taught painting at Luminy, at the University of Marseilles, and then at the National School of Decorative Arts of Nice. He was appointed Director of the École des Beaux-Arts of Toulon from 1974 to 1980, then held tenure as professor of painting at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris until 1992. Wherever he went, he drew and he painted: in Greece in 1966; in Egypt in 1982; in the Bay of the Somme in 2001. He exhibited regularly in France and abroad, notably in the United States, Canada, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy and Spain. François Aubrun died in Paris on the 5th of February, 2009.

Awards & Memberships

Selected Exhibitions

Galerie de Varenne, Paris, France, 1957

Galerie Dauphine, Paris, France, 1959

Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France, 1962

Galerie Terre d’Ocre, Toulouse, France, 1965

Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France, 1965

Galerie 9, Paris, France, 1965

Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France, 1967

Galerie 9, Paris, France, 1967

Galerie Le Point, Auxerre, France, 1967

Galerie du Vieux Cagnes, Haut-de-Cagnes, France, 1968

Groupe Animation d’une Cité, Lons-le-Saunier, France, 1968

Canal de Provence, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1968

Galerie Suzanne de Coninck, Paris, France, 1968

Galerie 7, Paris, France, 1969

Foyer du Vieux Colombier, Paris, France, 1969

Galerie Suzanne de Coninck, Paris, France, 1970

Galerie H.B., Aix-les-Bains, France, 1970

Galerie du Guet, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1971

Galerie Henry Meyer, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1971

Galerie Henry Meyer, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1972

Palais des Congrès, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1972

Galerie de La Licorne, Martel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland, 1972

Galerie Henry Meyer, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1973

Galerie La Porte de Jade, Brussels, Belgium, 1973

Galerie La Prévôté, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1975

Galerie des Maîtres Contemporains, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1975

Galerie des Maîtres Contemporains, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1976

La Galerie, Nîmes, France, 1976

La Galerie, Nîmes, France, 1977

Le Couvent Royal, Saint-Maximin, France, 1977

Galerie Eupalinos, Clermont-Ferrand, France, 1977

Palais de la Berbie, Albi, France, 1978

Galerie La Prévôté, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1979

Galerie Artax, Paris, France, 1979

Salle Carnot, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1979

La S.F.I.G.H. Architecture, Paris, France, 1981

Galerie Gilles Corbeil, Montréal, Canada, 1983

Galerie Baudinet, New York, 1983

Galerie Yannick Bideau, Paris, France, 1984

Galerie Baudinet, New York, 1985

Musée Granet, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1985

Galerie Manuel, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1986

German-French Cultural Institute of Tübingen, Germany, 1987

Musée Théodor-Haering-Haus, Tübingen, Germany, 1987

Galerie Jean-Claude Riedel, Paris, France, 1987

Galerie Jean-Claude Riedel, Paris, France, 1989

Galerie Jean-Claude Riedel, Paris, France, 1990

1991 Sarina Tang Fine Art, New York, 1991

Galerie Jean-Claude Riedel, Paris, France, 1992

Galerie Jean-Claude Riedel, Paris, France, 1993

Galerie Jean-Claude Riedel, Paris, France, 1995

Galerie L'Embarcadère, Lyon, France, 1996

Monasterio de Veruela, Zaragoza, Spain, 1997

Galerie L'Embarcadère, Lyon, France, 1997

Galerie Jean-Claude Riedel, Paris, France, 1997

Galerie Jean-Claude Riedel, Paris, France, 1999

Galerie Jean-Claude Riedel, Paris, France, 2001

Galerie L'Embarcadère, Lyon, France, 2001

Galerie Han Art, Montréal, Canada, 2001

Galerie Rouge, Morges, Switzerland, 2002

Galerie Ô Quai des Arts, Vevey, Switzerland, 2004

Galerie Nabokov, Paris, 2005

Galerie Ô Quai des Arts, Vevey, Switzerland, 2005

Chapelle Saint-Joseph, Le Tholonet, France, 2006

Galerie Ô Quai des Arts, Vevey, Switzerland, 2007

La Maison Guerlain, Paris, France, 2008

Galerie Ô Quai des Arts, Vevey, Switzerland, 2009

Galerie Nabokov, Paris, France, 2009

Topography of Art, Paris, France, 2012

Halle Saint Pierre, Paris, France, 2015

Domaine de Kerguéhennec, Bignan, France, 2015

Grand Trouble exhibition, Halle Saint Pierre, Paris, France, 2017

Aubrun: L'absolue peinture, Musée Angladon, Avignon, France, 2019

Dessin politique, Dessin poétique, Musée Jenisch, Vevey, Switzerland, 2019

Museums & Collections

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