(1927 - 2005) French artist

Born Armand Pierre Fernandez on November 17th, 1928 in Nice and died in New York October 22nd, 2005, is a French artist, a painter, a sculptor and a plastics technician, famous for its "accumulations".

Born on November 17th, 1928 and unique son of a real estate dealer and antiquities, Spanish origin, and Marguerite Jacquet, farmers' family of the Loire, the young person Armand shows very early capacities for the drawing and the painting. After his high school diploma, he studies at the School of the Decorative arts of Nice, then at the School of the Louvre. He meets Yves Klein and Claude Pascal at the school of Judo in Nice in 1947. With these two friends, he is interested at that time in the oriental philosophies.

At the end of 1957, Arman, who signed his works of his first name in homage to Van Gogh, decides to abandon Armand's " d ". In October, 1960, he makes the exhibition. The « Plein » where he performs in the gallery of Iris Clert with objects of rubbish and contents of selected trash cans. This exhibition makes the counterpoint of the exhibition The « empty Space » made two years earlier for the same gallery by his friend Yves Klein.

In October, 1960 also, under the leadership of the art critic Pierre Restany, he becomes with Yves Klein one of the founder members of the group of the New Realists = " new perceptive approaches of the reality " in sides in particular of François Dufrêne, Raymond Hains, Martial Raysse, Daniel Spoerri, Jean Tinguely and Jacques Villeglé, joins later by César, Mimmo Rotella, Nikki de Saint Phalle, Christo and Gérard Deschamps.

From 1961, Arman develops his career in New York where he lives and works half of his time in alternation with his life in Nice until 1967, then to Vence up to his death.

All his life, Arman was also a fascinated collector, of everyday objects: watches, weapons, pens, and of works of art in particular of traditional African art for which he was a connoisseur, an estimated and recognized specialist.