School of Fishes, 1982
Welded Steel and Visegrips, 64" x 96" x 3"
Still Hungry, 1979
Bronze-Plated Wrenches, 15" x 17" x 8"
Jaws, 1984
Welded Steel and Saws, 82" x 72"
Blue, Red, Brown, 1988
Mixed Media, 54" x 42 1/2"
Avalanche, 1979
Cast Bronze, 33" x 29" x 19"
Untitled, 1979
Acrylic on Plexiglas, acrylic sheet, 11 3/4" x 11 3/4" x 2"
Revealed Secrets, 1993
Electric Drills in Plexiglas, 40" x 32" x 3"
Born in Nice, France, in 1928 and died in New York in 2005, Armand Fernandez gave up his surname in youthful emulation of Van Gogh, and in 1957 he became Arman when a typesetter dropped the “d” from his name. A founding member of New Realism with artists Yves Klein and Jean Tinguely and theorist Pierre Restany, Arman continues to be one of the most innovative and provocative artists of our time. His formal training included studies at the National School of Decorative Arts in Nice and the Louvre School in Paris. He took up residence in New York in 1963, becoming friends with Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Frank Stella. Around 1960 he began creating his now world-famous “destructions” (poubelles), and “accumulations.” His “accumulations,” or constructions, have incorporated such ordinary objects as vice grips, saws, shoe trees, and wrenches, as well as scrapped industrial goods, broken bicycles, and discarded phonograph records, which he composes into broad, allover patterns. His work has been shown throughout the world, including the Venice Biennale and Documenta.