After the retrospective organized by the Kunstmuseum in Bern in early 2014 and the exhibition Giacometti, Marini, Richier, la figure tourmentée held by the Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts de Lausanne, Galerie Jacques de la Béraudière in Geneva is showing a retrospective exhibition of this exceptional artist who has devoted her life's work to the human figure.
Although iconic in the history of modern sculpture, her work remains unclassifiable and cannot be attached to a specific movement.
Germaine Richier was born in 1902 in Provence, France. She lives through the horrors of both world wars and her work is deeply affected by them.
The first part of her career is influenced by the teachings of Bourdelle, her master from 1926 to 1929. His influence on her work is clear in pieces such as Loretto in 1934 or La Regodias in 1938, up until the beginning of the forties.
Germaine Richier moves to Switzerland with her husband, the Swiss sculptor, Charles-Otto Bänninger in 1939 where they remain for the duration of the war.
She meets many artists such as Alberto Giacometti, Marino Marini, who produces a bust of Richier, which is kept in the Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Milan, Hans Arp, Fritz Wortuba and Cuno Amiet who painted several portraits of her.
Marked by the war her art evolves from classical early works to hybrid figures, such Le Crapaud in 1940, La Sauterelle in 1944 or L'Homme-forêt in 1945. She continues working on realistic sculptures with male and female nudes, such as Pomone in 1945.
Upon her return to France in 1946 she produces two important works: L’Araignée and La Mante, masterpieces that allow her to establish her own recognizable style and gain the respect and recognition of her peers.
Using metal frames (L'Ogre, 1946) and natural elements such as stone and wood as well as objects collected on the beach all of which she accumulated in her Parisian art studio (production of Seiches in 1954) her work embodies a dialogue between nature and the human form: a dialogue which will be constant throughout her career.
In the fifties Germaine Richier experiments with new techniques by introducing wax, plaster and lead in to her pieces. To give depth to her sculptures she works with other artists, such as Hans Hartung, Helena Vieira da Silva and Zao Wou-ki, who paint backgrounds for her sculptures (La Ville, 1952).
Germaine Richier dies in Montpellier in 1959 at the age of 57.
The retrospective exhibition at Galerie Jacques de la Béraudière offers a chronological course, showing the different aspects of Germiaine Richier's work. The sculptures are both form private collections as well as the artist's estate.