Born in Tours, France in 1925, the abstract artist James Coignard studied at the Ecole des Arts DÈcoratifs in Nice, and later apprenticed under the well-known painter Marchand des Raux.
It was a great pleasure to represent James as his dealer, publisher, agent and friend. He was a very special friend and will be missed.
In both his mixed media on canvas and his works on paper, James Coignard is known for his technical versatility. Coignard achieves a deep, heavy texture as a distinctive trait in his art.
The carborundum process of printmaking was developed by Henri Goetz in the 1960′s. Goetz taught Miro, Max Papart, Clave, Coignard and others the use of carborundum for printmaking.
The heavy texture achieved in both his paintings and works on paper is an important signature of Coignard’s work. He worked in many mediums including painting on canvas and on paper, Carborundum Gravures on hand-made paper, as well as sculpture in metal and glass.
Coignard worked intensively in what he termed “Gesture Painting”, some times spending many months creating series of paintings and graphics that are both powerful and beautiful.
“The painter is, like everybody, witness of his time… I focus in my paintings on the anguishes and aggressions of mankind by my gesture of anger, dynamism and also of hope.”
Museum Collections:
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York,
British Museum, London, England
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France
Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California
High Museum, Atlanta, Georgia
La Jolla Art Center, La Jolla, California
Kunst Museum, Soest, Germany
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Musée de Saint Denis, France
Museum of San Diego, San Diego, California
Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix. Arizona
Musée de Dimona, Israel
Bibliotheque Municipale, Nice, France
Bibliotheque Municipale, Tours, France
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Luxembourg
Musée de l’Abbaye de Sainte Croix, Les Sables d’Olonne,
France
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey
University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
University of Alabama, Alabama
University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida
University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee
Syracuse University, New York
Colgate University, New York, New York
Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Historical Society of Montana, Montana
Lincoln University, Oxford, Pennsylvania
Glassboro State College, New Jersey
Dublin Museum, Dublin, Ireland
New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana
Finch College, New York, New York
Wilmington College, Ohio
Jamestown College, North Dakota
Eastern Montana College, Montana
Belhaven Collection, North Carolina
Jackson and Mississippi College, Mississippi
Fulton Montgomery College, New York
Northwood Institute, Michigan
South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Museum of Contemporary Art, Montreal, Canada
Partial List of Corporate Collections:
General Foods
Pepsico
RCA
Mercedes-Benz
Xerox