JEAN CLAUDE FAHRI

Jean-Claude Farhi was born in Paris on February 11, 1940, and died at the age of 72 on September 7, 2012. In 1946 he went to Bogota (Colombia). In 1957, he moved to Nice, where he took drawing classes at Nice Decorative Arts. He did his military service, partly in Algeria, from 1960 to 1962.

 

Returning to Nice, he meets the principal artists of the School of Nice: Ben, Gilli Alocco, Malaval and the new-realists Arman and Raysse, who introduced him to the critic Pierre Restany. In 1965/1966, he worked on the "Motorcolors", then the sculptures in plexiglass or metal. He also worked for a while with Cesar.

 

Beginning in 1968 (Galerie Iris Clert exhibition), he devoted himself mainly to Plexiglas sculptures (with the support of "Polivar" factories) columns and discs, pyramids, and then sculptures called "variable geometry". This moved him in the direction of developing monumental works. His last monumental sculpture "SECRET POINT" in corten steel (dedicated to his daughter Domitilla Farhi) was installed in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, at the crossroads of the center of the village and the Maeght Foundation a few kilometers from his workshop. His wife Silvia Farhi and his daughter Domitilla live in the family house in Tourrettes sur Loup.