Pierre Marie Brisson Biography

Pierre Marie was born in Orléans, France and knew by the age of 14 that he was an artist.  Although he never had formal art school training, he did have a teacher who encouraged him to follow his dreams. As a young man, he was inspired by, and worked with, several artists including Bernard Saby, Bram Van Velde and James Coignard, essentially learning his craft as an apprentice.

As a painter, Brisson integrates French decorative aestheticism – evident from Manet to Matisse – into modernist Primitivism. Using a collage technique, Brisson combines various elements in his compositions, imitating the rough surface of an ancient wall, the craquelure of old paint, the decorative pattern of wallpaper and woven fabric.  Brisson’s art is avant-garde and ingenious, yet timeworn and antique.  It is skillfully crafted with the best materials, yet part of its success rests with the fact that his works are fashioned from the discarded fragments of our disposable civilization, rescued and revitalized by the hand of an artist. 

He uses several subjects and motifs repeatedly.  Art historian Jennifer Katanic observed:  “His work unravels the mystery of art through a careful reflection on familiar motifs. Matisse is recognized through his palm fronds and dancers, Degas by his ballerinas, the masters of Ancient Greece in a trio of athletes and the feminine graces. Each motif is transformed through process and materiality into a living picture. Jasper Johns accomplished something similar in his use of the American flag; immediate recognition of something known freed the viewer to experience the making of art more directly.  And that in turn, allowed the viewer to figure out more readily what exactly the artist was accomplishing through his choices.”

Brisson has an extensive exhibition history, primarily in Europe and his work can be found in the permanent collections of institutions throughout the world.  He has a studio in Paris as well as one in the ancient city of Aigues Morte in the south of France.  He spends most of his time painting in the south and can often be found working on his boat as it drifts down the Rhône River in the warm summer months.

Selected Solo Museum and Public Exhibitions

2016       Collégiale St Pierre Le Puellier, Orléans, France

2016       Maison des Princes Museum, Pérouges, France

2016       Space Dominique Bouchet, Tokyo, Japan

2014       Chapelle des Capucins, Aigues-Mortes, France

2013       Space Ugot, Marseille European Capitale of Culture 2013, France

2010       Museum Faure, Aix les Bains, France

2004       Musée d’art et d’histoire de Cognac, Cognac, France     

2004       Musée de l'Hospice Saint-Roch, Issoudun, France

2004       Villa Béatrix-Enea and Georges Pompidou Gallery, Anglet, France

2003       Musée des Beaux-Arts, Chateau de Foucaud, Gaillac, France

1999       Stadtisches Museum, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

1999       Musée de Gelsenkirchen, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

1999       Fondation Carcan, Carcan, Belgium

1999       Chateau de Lussan, Lussan, France

1992       Platform, Beirut, Lebanon

Selected Group Exhibitions

2012       Art Elysée, Paris, France

2010       150th Anniversary of the Angélus, Barbizon, France

2010       Eglise Sainte Anne, Montpellier, France

2003      Orangerie du Sénat, Paris, France

1998       SAGA, Paris, France

1995       International Biennial of Graphic Art, Ljubjana, Slovenia

1995       SIAC, Strasbourg, France

1991       Opéra de Rouen (The Year of Mozart), Rouen, France

Public Collections

George Pages Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Musée de Beaux-arts, Gaillac, France

Musée Faure, Aix les Bains, France

Art and History Museum, Belfort, France

Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France

Städtisches Museum, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

Achenbach Foundation, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA, USA

Georges Pages Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA

French Consulate, New York City, NY, USA

Jewish Museum, New York City, NY, USA