Biography.
Henri Goetz
painter and engraver born in New York in 1909, of French and American
origin.
After studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at Boston
(University of Havard) he moved to Paris in 1930. he attended mainly
the Montparnasse and Ozenfant Academies and began to form friendships
with the surrealist painters.
In 1935 he married the painter Christine Boumeester. From 1936 onwards,
wishing to become an abstract painter, he began to create a world of
forms and shapes that owed nothing to reality and in a space which opens
itself to the interior.
He exhibited at the Salon des Surindépendants and had his first
individual exhibitions at the "Galerie Bonaparte" in Paris
in 1937.
Henri Goetz met ANDRE BRETON in 1938 who baptised his colour reproductions
" Corrected Masterpieces": these were works of past artist
which Goetz had painted on, with the aim of collaborating with them
in order to produce collective posthumous works.
In 1940, with Dotremont and Ubac he created "The Pen In Hand"
the first realist review to be published during the war.
1940: Exhibition with Christine Boumeester at the "Galerie Jeanne
Bucher".
Obliged to leave Paris because of his American, citizenship and his
activity in the the resitance, he took refuge in Nice.
There he joined STAEL, ARP, MAGNELLI, PICABIA and the other surrealist
artists. It was thanks to the materials that BONNARD lent him that GOETZ
was able to realise his lithographies "Explorations" with
the poems of PICABIA. Returning to Paris after the end of the war he
took the first steps to reopening the "Salon des Indépendants".
In 1947 Alain RESNAIS dedicated his first film to GOETZ. From then onwards,
numerous exhibitions dedicated to his works were held in various countries.
Henri GOETZ lead painting courses at Ranson, La Grande Chaumière,
Notre-Dame-Des-Champs, Raspail, Frochot and Malebranche Academies.
In 1965 he founded the "Academie Goetz " on the premises of
the old " Academie André Lhote". He has been directing
art courses for three years at the " Conservatoire Américain
de Fontainebleau"
Films on Henri Goetz
1947 : Portrait of Goetz, Alain Resnais
1987 : Real, Jean, the process of Goetz.
1986 : Henri Goetz at work printmaking, French National Television
1987 : Museum of engraving (Charenton). Henri Goetz and engraving with
carborundum.