The United Gas Pipe Line Company Collection

UGPL 0011 Arman, Violins, casein on paper, 25¼” x 19½,” 1975 illus: p 44

UGPL 0012 Arman, Violins, casein on paper, 25¼” x 19½,” 1975 illus: p 44

UGPL 0013 Arman, Violins, casein on paper, 25¼” x 19½,” 1975 illus: p 45

UGPL 0014 Arman, Violins, india ink on paper, 25¼” x 19½,” 1975 illus: p 45

Arman (1928- )

Written in 1976 for the catalog and reproduced as printed, with spelling corrected. Not current.

A printer’s error changed painter Armand Fernandez’ first name to “Arman”—and it is as “Arman” that he has become one of the most sought-after figures in contemporary art.

Born in Nice, in 1928, Arman received early training in painting from his father. But he was a rebellious, adventuresome youth; it was not until 1964 that the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis exhibited his first one-man museum show. Until then he traveled, served with the French army, studied judo and Zen Buddhism, played serious chess and ‘Go’, and participated in European happenings and events with Yves Klein.

Arman experiments with direct contact prints of real objects, often shattered musical instruments, on paper, which he augments with ink and color. He is widely known for assemblages and accumulations of common objects arranged in abstract, repetitive compositions. His work has been seen at Documenta, the Venice Biennale, the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, and most major museums and galleries in Europe and the United States. Arman became a United States citizen in 1972.

From The Art Collection of United Gas Pipe Line Company (Houston, 1976), curated by Susan Rush.