Jean-Claude Gaugy

Un Rayon de Soleil

In the Jura mountain region of France, the Gaugy family have been artists for generations. Jean-Claude Gaugy entered the world and this tradition in 1944. Gaugy immersed himself in the art world, sharing a studio with Bernard Buffet, meeting Picasso, and continuing to paint and study. He studied at Académie Julien and Académie du Feu in Paris, and the School of Design in Rome. School of Woodcarving in Oberammergau, Germany, and the School of Sculpture in Moscow. He went to England for an apprenticeship with Henry Moore, which he describes as “months covered in plaster”. Then a new reality intervened when he was drafted into the French Marines, spending eighteen months in Africa in fierce combat. Gaugy will not talk about this period, but his time spent healing both in a hospital and a monastery indicates how deeply this affected the young and sensitive artist. In 1996, seeking both greater freedom and artistic stimulation, Gaugy decided to immigrate to the United States. However, upon arrival, he discovered only limited public interest in sculpture. Needing to sculpt, unwilling to paint, he began the development of his signature medium of wall hung paintings carved into wood. Gaugy’s next twenty years were spent exploring the limits of that medium, working realistically, practicing his craft. He generally ignored the conventional art establishment where he created major murals for libraries, churches, and synagogues, as well as having work purchased by major corporations and individuals. Throughout, he persisted in the evolution of his “carved paintings”, ceaselessly fascinated by the challenge of breaking new ground, of moving ancient craft into contemporary art. At age forty, Gaugy felt that he, his message, and his medium had all developed sufficiently to seek broader recognition. He ceased creating representational imagery; began working in his mature style and commenced gallery representation. He returned to France and had shows in his native region as well as the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris. He completed man murals, some as long as 50 feet, for groups as diverse as the First Interstate Bank Tower in Las Vegas and the National Foundation for Depressive Illnesses, whose 30-foot-long work was unveiled in Washington, D.C., at the National Building Museum in 1991. A variety of museums included his work in their permanent collections and his reputation as the father of Linear Expressionism began to grow. Headquartered in the Southwest and shown in galleries worldwide, Gaugy daily advances his commitments to his beloved wood and to his continued learning. His technical skill and open heart expand with every caring, and as we watch, the honesty of his work allows us to travel awhile with him on this expressive journey of the human spirit.