Georges Valmier (French 1885-1937)
A spiritual descendent of Cézanne, Valmier was one of the first painters to pursue the Cubist aesthetic. From as early as 1909, Valmier explored the new style independently from Braque and Picasso, whom he did not know at the time. From 1918 until his death, Valmier was represented by Léonce Rosenberg whose Galerie l'Effort Moderne was the focus of many cubist artists, including Albert Gleizes, Jean Metzinger, August Herbin and Henri Laurens. In 1921, l'Effort Moderne hosted Valmier's first one-man show and during 1923-1927 he was often published in Rosenberg's magazine. Valmier's colourful Cubist oeuvre forms a rich, significant and truly original part of the story of Cubism and merits to feature along the Cubist works of Braque, Picasso, Gris and Léger.
The early 1930's marked Valmier's departure from Cubism in favour of Abstraction. In 1932, alongside Jean Arp, Frantisek Kupka and Georges Vantongerloo, Valmier was a founder member of the Abstraction- Création group. Together with Alfred Reth, he developed Formes dans l'Espace. In parallel with Albert Gleizes, Valmier became increasingly preoccupied with religion and metaphysics, which is reflected in the delicate nuances in colour and forms. In his search to suggest the invisible, Valmier created abstracted pictorial harmonies, which he linked to the harmonies of his soul. In 1930 Lévy published Valmier's album with decorative projects called 'Décors et Couleurs'. This publication became a recognized source of inspiration for many abstract painters.
In 1936, Valmier worked on three monumental works for the 1937 Exposition Universelle, which he never lived to see.
Public collections include
Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris
Musée National d'Art Moderne (Pompidou), Paris
Rijksmuseum KrMüller, Otterlo
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven