Claude Gilli

Claude Gilli is a leading artist from the Nice school who has greatly contributed to the affirmation of French pop art. Born in Nice in 1938, he entered the Decorative Art school in Nice in 1955. Between 1957 and 1959, during his first exhibitions at the Galerie de Longchamp, he befriended with Albert Chubac, Martial Raysse, then Ben at the inauguration of the latter’s “Laboratory 32”.

In 1962, on New Year’s Eve, he burned almost all of his early works. Then he met Arman, César, Farhi and Venet before meeting Robert Malaval with whom he carried out several works around “L’aliment blanc”. He presents numerous exhibitions, notably in Venice then in Paris at Yvon Lambert Gallery after having obtained the Lefranc Prize in 1966. The following year he takes part in the exhibition “12 Super-Réalistes” in Venice at Del Leone where he discovers the works of American “pop”, Lichtenstein, Warhol and Wesselmann. Then in 1968 he worked with plexiglass before starting a series of “snail” paintings.

After settling in a Parisian studio in 1976, he participated in numerous international exhibitions, including one dedicated to the “l’école de Nice (Nice school)” at the Center Georges Pompidou. In 1981 a retrospective was devoted to him at the Musée de Nice, and several catalogs were published by Pierre Restany. He also produced a monumental steel sculpture for the Palais des Congrès in the city of Nice.

The degenerative disorder he was subject to finally caught up with him and obliges him to be in a wheelchair. In 1985, He started working tirelessly and developed works in cut iron, notably for outdoor pieces and monumental sculptures presented at the Center d’Art Contemporain in Rouen (1990) and at the Jousse & Seguin gallery (1991). Three other retrospectives was presented in 1999 at the MAMAC in Nice, with the publication of a catalog with his works; in 2003, at the Villa Tamaris, then in 2004 at the Museum of Fine Arts in Bordeaux.

In 2005, Constance Ryder directed a feature-length documentary on her work broadcast on TV5 Monde.

Between 2005 and 2015, Gilli participated in numerous exhibitions in Asia, the United States and Europe, produced a monumental 12-meter steel sculpture for the Alliance Foundation, at the Al-Maaden Golf Resort in Marrakech, and was nominated to the grade of “Commander des Arts et Letters” by the Minister of Culture.

On June 28, 2015 Claude Gilli died in Nice at the age of 76. A posthumous exhibition was dedicated to him at MAMAC in 2017.

EXHIBITIONS (SELECTION) 2024 Galerie Berthéas, St-Étienne, France Château de Crémat, Nice, France Elie Art Galerie, Paris, France 2022 Galerie Bethéas, Vichy, France Group exhibition, On the Way to Art for All, Galerie Loft, Paris, France 2021 Dual exhibition with Bernard Quentin, The 70s show, Galerie Loft, Paris, France Group exhibition, “Art for All collection— A work of art for everyone”, Galerie Loft, Paris, France 2020 Group exhibition, Art Paris 2020. Projets Monumentaux, Galerie Loft, Paris, France 2018 Pop Art : Les feux de l’amour, Galerie Loft, Paris, France 2012 A l’origine, Nice, exposition de groupe, Malborough Gallery, Nice, France 2011 Musée Fernand Léger, Biot, France 2007 James Mayor Gallery, Londres, Angleterre 2006 Loft Gallery, Barcelona, Spain Guy Pieters Gallery, Knokke-le-Zoute, Belgium 2004 Galerie du Centre, Paris, France Rétrospective, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, France 2003 Rétrospective, Villa Tamaris, La Seyne-sur-Mer, France 2000 Hervé Loevenbruck Gallery, Paris, France 1999 Rétrospective, Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Nice, France 1991 Jousse & Segui Gallery, Paris 1990 Exposition de l’ensemble de ses sculptures en acier, Centre d’Art Contemporain, Rouen, France 1987 Loft Gallery, Paris, France 1981 Rétrospective, Musée de Nice, Nice, France 1977 L’Ecole de Nice, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France 1976 Vallois Gallery, Paris, France 1973 Ferrero Gallery, Nice, France 1972 Escargots, Paris, France 1968 Palais des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles, Belgium 1967 12 Super-Réalistes, Galleria Del Leone, Venice, Italy 1966 Yvon Lambert Gallery, Paris, France 1963 Henriette Legendre Gallery, Paris, France 1958 Laboratoire 32, inauguration of Ben’s store, Nice, France

---

MAIN PUBLIC COLLECTION FRAC Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur HONOURS Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres de la République française