Fernandez Arman (French, 1928-2005) Bronze Chair . Title - Pompei's Syndrome The Day After. Lifesize bronze sculpture of Louis XV armchair. Inscribed Arman front left and inscribed Fondeur Bocquel 7/8 on the back leg of the chair. The life-size bronze chair sculpture measures 33.5 inches high, 23 wide, 20.5 deep and weighs 172 pounds. In good condition. Included with this edition 7 of 8 sculptures, is the original 1984 invoice with the purchase price of $14,400, related letters and correspondence, photographs, exhibition catalogue detailing the making of the bronze chair sculpture and appraisal from the Marisa del Re Gallery in New York. Also included is a 1984 Art World exhibition article on the bronze sculpture.

From Askart: Armand Pierre Arman (1928-2005), whose birth name was Armand Fernandez, and who goes by the single name of Arman, was born in Nice, France in 1928. His father, an antiques dealer and weekend painter, had moved the family from Algeria to southern France. Best known for his 'assemblages' created from found objects, Arman divided his time between France and the United States.

His first exposure to painting was through his father, who gave him art lessons. In 1946, he began his painting study at the Ecole Nationale d'Art Decoratif in Nice, where he also earned degrees in mathematics and philosophy. There he met artists Claude Pascal and Yves Klein, and together they hitchhiked across Europe. He completed his studies in Nice in 1949, and went on to the Ecole du Louvre, studying oriental art and archaeology. Some of his first works were in Abstract and Surrealist styles.

At a 1954 exhibition in Paris, Arman was impressed with the works of Kurt Schwitters, which inspired him to begin working with stamp imprints known as 'cachets'. Concurrently, he earned a living selling furniture, harpoon fishing, and other odd jobs. He first exhibited in London and Paris in 1956. A year later, he traveled to Turkey, Afghanistan, and Persia. The story of Arman's name change is curious. He was an admirer of the works of Van Gogh, who omitted his first name in signing his paintings. Thus, Armand Fernandez decided to simply become Armand. Then in 1958, a Paris gallery, Galerie du Haut-Pave, mistakenly left off the 'd' of Armand. Upset at first, he later preferred to be known as Arman. In 1973, he changed his name to Armand Pierre Arman after becoming a U.S. citizen.

Arman began his Accumulations in 1959, where collections of like, everyday objects were crowded together in boxes, or vitrines. The objects were not arranged, expressing an element of chance in his work. Along with Yves Klein, the two became founding members of the Nouveau Realisme (New Realism), a group interested in creating different and new ways of thinking about real life and art. Yves Klein opened an exhibition entitled Le in 1958, consisting of empty gallery space to intrigue viewers about non-material things. Arman responded in 1960 with his exhibition of Le Plein, in which he filled the gallery with debris he collected from the streets of Paris. These non-utilized items, he believed, had their own distinctive worth, which should not be lost.

In 1961, Arman visited New York City for the first time, and his work was shown as part of an exhibition called The Art of Assemblage at the Museum of Modern Art. In 1962, after his friend Yves Klein passed away in Paris, Arman began to spend more time in New York City. His first museum retrospectives occurred in 1964 at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, and at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. From the 1970s through the 1990s, his art was primarily created for public participation and display. His largest work, Long Term Parking (1982), was a concrete tower of 60 cars, 65 feet high, standing in front of a suburban parking lot in Paris. Arman has maintained studios in Paris and New York since 1973. He died in 2005

Condition listed in description