Vita
 | ANDRÉ EVARD’S BIOGRAPHY André Evard (1876-1972) is an important artist of Swiss modernism. He is considered a pioneer of this movement, as he produced abstract-constructive works very early on. However, his importance in art history is still largely unknown, as the Swiss artist refused to enter the art market throughout his life and therefore never worked with a gallery owner who could have presented his works to the general public. As a result, André Evard’s importance for the development of the Swiss avant-garde was increasingly forgotten and he did not receive the appreciation he deserved. Throughout his life, he remained a loner, developing an independent visual language and a specific way of seeing from the very beginning, which is also reflected in his works. In the course of his life, he produced hundreds of oil paintings, a large number of drawings and around 2000 to 3000 watercolours and gouaches. |
Curriculum Vitae 1876 Birth in Renan, near to La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland) 1879 Moves with his mother after his father’s death to the watchmaking city La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland) 1903 Appointed to the cultural advisory board of La Chaux-de-Fonds. Opening of the “Maison d’Art” together with Charles Lauper. They sell arts and crafts products in the style of Art Nouveau. 1904 – 1906 Attendance of evening classes at the local arts and crafts school„Ecole d’Art“ 1906 – 1909 Master student of Charles L’Eplattenier, the founder of the “style sapin”, a special form of Swiss Art Nouveau. Evard’s study friends included Le Corbusier (with whom he painted various private villas) as well as Georges Aubert, Octave Matthey and Léon Perrin.. 1907 Evard, Le Corbusier and Perrin do study trip to Italy 1908 First collages and works in Enamel emerge 1913 first geometric-abstract compositions with cubist features emerge 1923 – 1927 Lives and works in Paris. Evard exhibits at the Salon d’Automne and the Salon des Indépendants, among others. Meets Braque, Delaunay, Léger, Mondrian. Theo van Doesburg wants Evard to join the “De Stijl” group. 1924 – 1926 He creates numerous constructive works. 1936 Participation in the Zurich exhibition “Zeitprobleme der Schweizer Malerei und Plastik” (Problems of Time in Swiss Painting and Sculpture) 1937 Evard becomes a member of the newly founded artists’ group “Allianz”. 1951 Retroperspective at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in La Chaux-de-Fonds 1972 Death in Le Locle (Switzerland) |