GERMAIN BONEL 1912/2002

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A solid, rustic and architectural painting that will delight a music lover. The pleasure of painting is there, certainly. The expressive force of the work is manifested by a raw graphic design, inspired by the art of carving. Dark and thick rings structure the planes, they contain the color and give substance to massive and squared shapes. The telluric power of his painting is also expressed through the use of a palette of muted tones. Unlike the painters of the previous generation who favored light, Bonel studies the vigor of the material. His friend François Desnoyer defined his research as follows: “design, value, color, everything is used to the maximum in his painting”

1921-1925   He lives in Céret very close to the house of the painter Pierre Brune. There is no doubt that being around him awakened a taste for painting in the young boy.
1927-1931  He becomes an apprentice house painter and learns decoration; he left to exercise his talents in Paris where he worked on preparing the colonial exhibition.
1935-1939  He meets his wife and settles in Amélie-les Bains as a painter. During his mobilization he produced numerous portraits.
1940  Returning to Amélie-les-Bains he sees his workshop swept away by the great flood of October 17. He then decided to settle in Perpignan where he worked in many small jobs before resuming his activity as a craftsman.
1941  He enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and met the painter Fons-Godail who took a liking to him and, like Pierre Brune, never stopped advising and encouraging him.
1947  He meets Henri Frère, sculptor, student of Maillol; of the poet Joseph Sébastien Pons and the painter André Susplugas. A deep friendship united them, and thanks to them he enriched his knowledge of the arts.
1948  He abandons his craft as a craftsman to devote himself to easel painting while helping his wife who runs a business.
1951  He meets François Desnoyer who will provide unfailing support and is admitted to the Salon d'Automne where he will exhibit regularly.
1953-1954  He is selected for the Young Painting Prize at Drouan-David.
1957-1962  He gradually gains confidence in himself and holds his first private exhibition in Paris at the Galerie du Péristyle. This exhibition will prove to be a huge success.
1967-1983  He became a professor of painting and drawing at the School of Fine Arts in Perpignan.
2002  He died on March 14 in Perpignan.

MAIN EXHIBITIONS

1944 First group exhibition “Velmanya” Salle Arago in Perpignan.
1945-1948 Annual exhibition Arago Hall
1951-1961  Exhibition with Maureso and Susplugas, Salle Arago in Perpignan. He exhibited at the Salon d'Automne, Paris; he became a member in 1961.
1954-1958  Dôme Prize and Young Painting Prize, Paris. His works are presented in numerous galleries: Galerie Framond, Galerie Boissière, Galerie du Péristyle, Galerie Vendôme, Galerie L'Angle du Faubourg.
1960  Exhibits with Maureso and Susplugas, gallery 45 in Perpignan
1962-1963 First personal exhibition at the Galerie du Péristyle, Paris; he will exhibit there again the following year.
1964 Adam Gallery, London
1965  Au temps rediscovery gallery, Grenoble, Galerie Angle du Faubourg, Paris.
1967 Simone Boudet Gallery, Toulouse.
1968 Permanent exhibition until 1973 at the Apesteguy Gallery, Deauville. Galerie de la main de Fer Perpignan, he will be present there until 1973.
1973-1974  Galerie Vendôme, Paris.
1978  Simone Boudet Gallery, Toulouse.
1988  Michel Bourcy Gallery, Toulouse. Retrospective at the Palais des Congrès, Perpignan.
1991  Chateau Royal, Collioure.
1992  Vendôme Gallery, Paris.
1994  Serpente Gallery, Chartres.
1995  Exhibition of drawings at the Desnoyer Foundation, St Cyprien.
2000 Mode of expression gallery, Perpignan.
2007  Bellegarde Center, Toulouse.
2007 Tribute to Gemain Bonel, Amélie les Bains.

Ref: E1AY7960YY