Pierre Célice 1932-2019

Born in 1932 in Paris, the son of a lawyer, Pierre Célice began studying law but soon turned to drawing and painting. Under the early influence of Henri Hayden, whom he described as his master, his artistic work was initially figurative. He achieved his first successes between 1950 and 1960 during exhibitions, notably at the Galerie Simone Badinier. Very quickly, however, his figuration became increasingly synthetic, while color gradually assumed an ever more essential role. He created new paintings composed exclusively of lines and colors – abstraction was beginning to take shape, though it had not yet fully imposed itself. In the early 1970s, Célice worked in the lithography studio of Peter Bramsen, which brought together international CoBrA artists. He became acquainted with the work of Bram Van Velde, Pierre Alechinsky, Asger Jorn, Karel Appel, and others. Attending this studio naturally led him to break completely with figuration. However, progress in this new approach was difficult: Célice hesitated about his work and artistic direction; the completed pieces did not align with his vision. Dissatisfied, he burned and destroyed several years of paintings. He would only reconcile with his work towards the end of the 1970s. In 1982, he relocated to Paris and participated in several group exhibitions. Since then, numerous exhibitions have been organized around his work, both in France and abroad.