Alexandre Bonnier Biography
Alexandre Bonnier was a French surrealist artist born in 1932 in Chalon-sur-Sone. Also known as "AB", Bonnier was a prolific painter, sculptor, installation creator and printmaker, as well as a writer and filmmaker. After serving in the military in Algeria, he studied at the Aubusson school of fine arts and later worked as director of the École des beaux-arts de Moullins and then Lille. He was later responsible for visual arts at the Institute of the Environment. Bonnier was one of the permanent painters of the Pierre Domec Gallery in Paris and exhibited his works in many exhibitions. His works are characterized by recurring themes of Fantasy (Eros) and death (Thanatos), which recall the writings of Georges Bataille, in particular Madame Edwarda. His works represent the perceptions of the senses on the canvas, offering plastic equivalences to the sensations captured. The bodies, although present in his first paintings (Homme nu, 1964, Madame Petit Cul, 1966), tended to disappear over time. Bonnier died in 1992, leaving behind many unpublished works. His art continues to be appreciated in the contemporary art world and has left a lasting legacy in his artistic practice.
