Claude Gilli (1938 - 2015)

Born in 1938 in Nice, Claude Gilli is an important French painter and sculptor. He participates, alongside Yves Klein, Albert Chubac, Martial Raysse and Ben in the creation of the Ecole de Nice which has contributed to the affirmation of French pop art.

After having burned his early works in 1962, he met Arman or Cesar. He is regularly exhibited, and an exhibition in Venice gives him the opportunity to discover the American Pop Artists Roy Lichtenstein or Warhol. In the 70s, he produces a series of paintings and installations with snails, an animal which becomes a privileged tool of his work. He moves to Paris where he is exhibited at the Center Pompidou during a retrospective on the Ecole de Nice.

His varied, joyful, colorful and sometimes ironic work is expressed in different materials and support: plexiglass, wood, steel.

He is showcased in many museums and galleries throughout Europe as well as in Asia and the United States.