Jacques Germain

Jacques Germain was a prominent member of the Abstraction Lyrique group in post-war Paris, with Georges Matheiu, Vieira da Silva, and Riopelle.

As a young artist, he worked under Léger, at the Académie Moderne in 1931, and Kandinsky, at the Bauhaus in 1932. But it wasn’t until after the war that Germain first exhibited his work, at the Salon des Surindépendants of 1947. Painting with heightened gestural expression, Germain developed the powerful resonant style for which he is renowned.

By 1948, Germain was already becoming associated with the leading avant-garde, exhibiting with Arp, Bryen, Fautrier, Hartung, Mathieu, Picabia, Tapies and Wols in ‘Blanc et Noir’ at Galerie des Deux Iles in Paris. In 1949, he held an exhibition with Soulages at Atelier de Maywald, and at the same venue in 1951 with Bauer, Sonia Delaunay, Hartung, Kandinsky, Magnelli, Soulages and da Silva. Establishing a reputation, he went on to hold regular solo shows at galleries Maeght, Pierre, Michel Warren, Kriegel, André Schoeller, Jacques Massol and Dina Vierny.

He also participated in many museum shows in France and abroad.

Salon des Indépendants, Paris, France, 1947

Galerie des Deux Iles, Paris, France, 1948

Salon des Réalités Nouvelles, Paris, France 1949

Atelier de Maywald, Paris, France, 1949

Galerie Charpentier, Paris, France

Galerie Kriegel, Paris, France

Gallerie Maeght, Paris, France

Galerie Jacques Massol, Paris, France

Galerie Pierre, Paris, France

Galerie Michel Warren, Paris, France

Galerie André Schoeller, Paris, France

Galerie Dina Vierny, Paris, France

Galerie Michel Warren, Paris, France

Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1955

Le Mouvement dans l'art Contemporain, Musée de Lausanne, France, 1955

Exposition Internationale de l’Art Abstrait, Paris, France, 1957

École de Paris, Mannheim, Germany, 1959

Irish International Exhibition of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland, 1962

Retrospective, Couvent des Cordeliers, France, 1997

Hanina Fine Arts, London, England, 2005

Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France

Musée d’Art Moderne, Bremen, France

Musée d’Art Moderne, Bergen, France

Musée d’Art Moderne, Lausanne, France

Musée d’Art Moderne, Lille, France

Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris, France

Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville, Paris, France

Musée d’Art Moderne, Oslo, Norway

Awards & Memberships

Selected Exhibitions

Museums & Collections

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