James PICHETTE

Biography

James Pichette was born on 1 August 1920 in Châteauroux. He is a French painter associated with the informal art movement and the brother of the poet Henri Pichette.

As a result of the war, which he fought in the 41" G.R.D.I. in 1939-1940, he was forced to spend a long time in the high mountains of Savoy. It was there, in 1942, that he began to paint figurative pictures. He returned to his native province and settled in Aigurande in 1943. After the liberation of Paris, he returned to the capital.

In 1947, he exhibited for the first time at the Salon des surindépendants. That same year, he left for Italy and spent several months in Rome. He worked in the Cinecittà studios, where he produced his first abstract works.

He exhibited at the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles in 1950.

In 1952, he obtained a scholarship to study in the Netherlands and became a resident at the Maison Descartes in Amsterdam.

He moved to New York in 1960, where he developed a passion for jazz and became friends with great jazz musicians. Then, back in France, he collaborated in various jazz-painting experiments including the first free jazz festival held at Bobino in January 1967.

In 1976, James Pichette taught at the National School of Decorative Arts in Nice. He regularly exhibited at the Salon des grands et jeunes d'aujourd'hui and the Salon de mai.

The circle made its appearance in 1970. In 1985, the "Espace jazzique" began, a theme that occupies his painting for a long time.

James Pichette also made ceramics, tapestries, furniture and decorative objects.

He died in Paris on 2 August 1996.