JEAN-CLAUDE FAHRI

Been born to Paris in 1940 Screws and traville in France

Of 1946 to 1957, John Claude Farhi lives in Colombia to Bogota with his family. To his return, it studies at the school of the fine arts of Nice. It meets Danielle Giraudy, that will become more more later more conservative of the museum Picasso to Antibes.

In 1959, John Claude presents his first personal exposition, and meets the artists Caesar and Arman. This is the point of departure of a strong and durable friendship.

In 1960 Farhi rejoins the army and is sent in Algeria as nurse. To his return, in 1962, it continues to paint but is obliged to work in the family business after the death of his father. In 1965, Farhi exposes to the gallery of the Checkerboard to Paris. In 1966, it uses pieces of well-worn vehicles that it solders and paints to transform them in sculptures presented on bases in chrome-plated metal.

From 1967, it incorporates various plastic elements in its sculptures. Thanks to these new research, Farhi begins conceiving sculptures exclusively from polyméthacrylate of méthyle (name scholar of the plexiglas). In 1968 it knows a big success at the time of his exposition of plastic and metallic sculptures to the gallery Iris Clert, to Paris, entitled "Chromplex". This is at that very moment that John Claude Farhi passes statute of regional artist to the one of national, and even international artist. It attends Caesar for several years and travels thus with him through Europe.

Of 1969 to 1973, Farhi works enormously with the Italian factories of Plexiglas, and becomes a recognized expert on the utlisation of this equipment. It discovers New York in 1972 and decides, in 1981 to divide his time between his workshop of Soho to New York, and the one of the south of France.

Welcomed and encouraged by Arman, that recommends for him of "to see big", it begins soon to sign pieces of big dimensions, columns, stèles and discs. In 1989, it exposes his first monumental sculpture to variable geometry to New Canaan, in the Connecticut to the United States. Immediately after, in 1990, his grandiose sculpture "Spread" situated facing the airport of Nice is inaugurated: 34 meters of top, 21 tons, 9 meters of door to false, this is the biggest never realized sculpture in "perspex" (family of the plastic ones). From 1991, having "does the turn of the possibilities of the material plexiglas", it orients himself towards the treatment of the crude steel for big sculptures intend for the full air, as the one that were exposed the last summer on the quay of the United States. Aujourd’hui father of two children (David, 19 years and Victoria, 14 years), John Claude Farhi follows his work of "colonization" plastic arts.