Georges Matthieu

Georges Mathieu
Born: January 27, 1921; Boulogne-sur-Mer, France
Died: June 10, 2012; Boulogne-Billancourt, France
Nationality: French
Art Movement: Art Informel, Tachisme, Abstract Art
Genre: abstract
Field: painting
Soundtrack:
Edward MacDowell
Piano Concerto No. 1 In A Minor, Op. 15,
I. Maestoso; Allegro Con Fuoco
II. Andante Tranquilo
III. Presto
Derek Han (piano),
Chicago Sinfonietta,
Paul Freeman (conductor)
Georges Mathieu is a French painter and theorist known for launching the movement of lyrical abstraction and informal art in post-World War II Paris. He published several manifestos emphasizing the beliefs of lyrical abstraction important in the creation of paintings: priority to the primacy of speed, refusal of references and an ecstatic state of mind. His work is characterized by a particular calligraphy and rhythmic quality akin to the so-called dripping works of Jackson Pollock. He often goes to French television sets to create paintings, “the most important moments are when I paint in public,” he says. “It is the joy of communion with the other. A bit like in love. What defines love is this tension between two people who share the same interest. Born on January 27, 1921 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, Mathieu pleads for the improvement of the design of everyday objects and the disavowal of the culture produced by the mass media. His works can be found in the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago, among others.