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ABDALLAH BENANTEUR ABDALLAH BENANTEUR

ABDALLAH BENANTEUR, Algeria (1931 - 2017)

Bio

Abdallah Benanteur was born in Mostaganem, Algeria, in 1931. He began painting flowers and still life scenes at age 11 and later attended sculpture workshops before enrolling at the School of Fine...

Written by L'Or Iman Puymartin


Abdallah Benanteur was born in Mostaganem, Algeria, in 1931. He began painting flowers and still life scenes at age 11 and later attended sculpture workshops before enrolling at the School of Fine Arts in Oran, where he studied for four years. Benanteur settled permanently in Paris in 1953 and taught at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts and the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs from 1971 to 1974.

Benanteur’s style developed under the guidance of Robert Martin at the School of Fine Arts in Oran. Martin also introduced him to Abdelkader Guermaz and Mohammed Khadda, who were integral players in the first wave of significant modern Algerian artists. He became particularly close to Khadda, and the two shared a fascination for the poets Al-Hallaj, Omar Khayyam, Ibn Arabi, and Saadi. In the early 1950s, Benanteur and Khadda moved to Paris to attend the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, an untraditional art school in the city’s Montparnasse district. Benanteur was involved in a circle of writers, poets, filmmakers, and painters with whom he often collaborated. He illustrated much of the poet Jean Sénac’s work, in particular, in homage to their native Algeria. During his time in Paris, Benanteur practiced illustration, typography, sculpture, and etching, though painting remained his primary medium.

Benanteur’s brother, Charef, disappeared during the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962). In 1965, the artist chose to commemorate his beloved sibling with the foundation of the Charef Collection, which ultimately amassed 1,500 works over 40 years.

In keeping with the untraditional training he received in Montparnasse, Benanteur strayed from academic methods of painting. His unique style mainly developed outside the classroom, through diligent visits to the Louvre and other museums as well as travels throughout Europe. His choice to make nonfigurative art mirrored his struggles far from home. Wanting to visualize every emotion, he layered quick and precise gestures to create mosaic-like images of landscapes and people that reminded him of his homeland. His palette varied considerably throughout his oeuvre, ranging from heavy to bright tones and often employing earthy green, blue and brown pigments. In the early ‘90s, Benanteur began creating diptychs and triptychs to track events through their evolutionary stages, seeking merely to define two or more states side by side instead of creating severe juxtapositions.

Benanteur passed away in Ivry-sur-Seine, France in 2017.

Sources
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CV

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2019

Abdallah Benanteur, Works Of Light. Paintings, 1953-2003, Le Grarage, Amboise, France

2018

Le Chant de la Terre, Retrospective and Homage, City of Issoudun Museum, France

2017

Le Testament, peintures ultimes, 2003-2011, galerie Claude Lemand, Paris

2016

Une Passion à partager, peintures, 1955-2011, galerie Claude Lemand, Paris

2015

Art Dubai Modern, galerie Claude Lemand, Paris

2014

Le Chant de la Terre, peintures, 1982-1999, galerie Claude Lemand, Paris

2013

Du Désert au Jardin, peintures de 1959-1989, galerie Claude Lemand, Paris

2012

Un itinéraire, 1957-2011, galerie Claude Lemand, Paris

2011

Benanteur, peintures récentes, 2001-2011, galerie Claude Lemand, Paris

2010

Benanteur, peintures des années 80, galleries Claude Lemand, Paris

2008

Art Paris, galerie Protée, Paris

2003

Abdallah Benanteur, le peintre des poètes, retrospective, Institut du monde arabe, Paris, France

2000

Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris, France

1999

Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris, France

1998

Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris, France

1997

Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris, France

1996

Le triomphe de la Peinture, Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris, France

1995

Lumière et mémoire, Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris, France

1994

Work from the 80s, Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris, France

1993

Work on paper, National Museum of Fine Arts, Alger, Algeria

1992

Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris, France

1991

Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris, France

1990

Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris, France

1989

Galerie ISMA, Alger, Algeria

1988

Étienne Dinet Gallery, Paris, France

1987

Centre culturel algérien, Paris, France
Palais des congrés, Brussels, Belgium

1986

Galerie Protée, Paris

1982

Les illuminations de Al-Hallaj, polyptyque, Lyon, France

1980

32 ouvrages composes, Illustrations by Benanteur, Nicaise Library, Paris, France

1977

Peintures et oeuvres graphiques, Palais des Arts et de la Culture, Brest, France

1971

L’Air pauvre, poems by Monique Boucher, etchings by Benanteur, Aliscans Library, Paris, France

1970 

Galerie Bernier, Paris, France

1967

Association France-Algérie, Paris, France

1965

Six poems d’Emily Dickinson, etchings by Benanteur, Le Fanal library, Paris, France

1964

Galerie Herbinet, Paris, France

1963

Espoire et parole, poems by Jean Sénac, etchings by Benanteur, Beaune Press, Paris, France

1962

Diwan du mole, poems by Jean Sénac, etchings by Benanteur, Dominique Library, Paris, France

1961

Matinales de mon people, poems by Jean Sénac, illustrations by Benanteur, Le Fanal library, Paris, France

1960

Aquarelles, Philadelphia, USA
Aquarelles, Hamburg, Germany
Aquarelles, Lausanne, France

1959

Peintures, Worpswede Kunstalle, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Stuttgart

1958

Peintures et aquarelles, Club des Quatre-Vents, Paris

1957

Galerie Cimaise, Paris

Selected Group Exhibitions

2019

A la Plume, Au Pinceau, Au Crayon, Dessins du Monde Arabe, World, Institut du monde, Paris, France

2018

A Century in Flux, Highlights from the Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah Art Museum,
Sharjah, UAE
Donation Claude & France Lemand, Museum, Institut du monde arabe, Paris, France
Paris from East and West, Galerie Claude Lemand, Art Paris, Grand Palais, Paris, France
Portrait de l’Oiseau-Qui-N’Existe-Pas, Maison des Arts, ANTONY, France

2017

Chefs-D’oeuvre De L’art Moderne Et Contemporain Arabe , organized by Barjeel Art Foundation at the Institut du monde arabe, Paris, France
Tour du Monde en Tondo, Musée de l’Hospice Saint Roch, Issoudun, France
Tondo from East and West, Espace Claude Lemand, Paris, France
From East, Afrika and West, Art Paris Art Fair 2017, Grand Palais, Paris, France

2016

The sea suspended, organized by Barjeel Art Foundation at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMoCA), Teheran, Iran
Arab Modern Artists, Espace Claude Lemand, Paris, France

2015

Modern Arab Masterpieces, Espace Claude Lemand, Paris, France
Small is beautiful. Gouaches on paper, 1973, Galerie Claude Lemand, Paris, France

2014

Portrait of The-Non-Existent-Bird. Collection of Claude and France Lemand, Museum of Issoudun, France
Landscape and Arab Modernity, Espace Claude Lemand, Paris, France
Arab Modernities, Espace Claude Lemand, Paris, France
The Black and the Blue. A Mediterranean Dream, MUCEM, Marseille, France
Summary, Part 1, Mathaf Collection, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar

2013

Festival of Small Size Works, Galerie Claude Lemand, Paris, France
The Black and the Blue. A Mediterranean Dream, MUCEM, Marseille, France
Tajreed (Arab Abstract Art), Contemporary Art Platform (CAP), Kuwait City, Kuwait
D’Orient et d’Occident, Galerie Claude Lemand, Paris, France
Arab Masterpieces, Espace Claude Lemand, Paris, France

2012

Maîtres du Tondo, Galerie Claude Lemand, Paris, France
Les Arts de l’Exil. Œuvres de dix artistes du Monde arabe, émigrés ou exilés en Europe et aux USA, Espace Claude Lemand, Paris, France

2011

D’Orient et d’Occident, CAP Kuwait, Kuwait
D’Orient et d’Occident, Galerie Claude Lemand, Paris, France

2010

Sajjil: A Century of Modern Art, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar
Claude Lemand Editeur d’Art. Sculptures, estampes et livres de 7 artistes édités par la galerie, Espace Claude Lemand, Paris, France

2009

Maîtres du Tondo, Galerie Claude Lemand, Paris, France
Arab Graphic Arts, Galerie Claude Lemand, Paris, France

2008

Word into Art, British Museum, Dubai, UAE
Oeuvres majeures, Espace Claude Lemand, Paris, France

2007

VIe Biennale Internationale de la Gravure d'Ile-de-France, Versailles, France

2006

Maîtres du Tondo, Galerie Claude Lemand, Paris, France

2005

Mille Portraits de l’Oiseau-Qui-N’Existes-Pas, Galerie Claude Lemand, Paris, France
Hommage à Shafic Abboud, Galerie Claude Lemand, Paris, France

2002

Maîtres du Tondo, Galerie Claude Lemand, Paris, France

2001

D’Orient et d’Occident, Galerie Claude Lemand, Paris, France

1999

Maîtres du Tondo, Galerie Claude Lemand, Paris, France

1997

Les Papiers du Cœur, Galerie Claude Lemand, Paris, France
Maîtres du Tondo, Galerie Claude Lemand, Paris, France

1996

Portrait de l’Oiseau-Qui-N’Existes-Pas, Galerie Claude Lemand, Paris, France

1995

Les effets du voyage: 25 Artistes Algériens, Palais des Congrès et de la Culture de Mans, France
Maîtres du Tondo, Galerie Claude Lemand, Paris, France
Itinéraire d’une galerie, Grenoble, France

1993

Maîtres du Tondo, Galerie Claude Lemand, Paris, France

1992

Une collection privée, Huiles sur toile, Naha City, Japan

1984

Arab Heritage, Alkhobar, Saudi Arabia

1983

Palais des Beaux-Arts, Marseille, France

Awards and Honors

Member of the Committee for Young Engraving (Comité de la Jeune Gravure), Paris, France
Member of the National Committee for the Illustrated French Book (Comité National du Livre Illustré Français) Paris, France
Member of the National Library and the Arsenal Library, Paris, France

1983

Biella International Prize, Italy

Publications

2017

Tour Du Monde en Tondo

2014

Portraits de l’Oiseau-Qui-N’Existe-Pas

2005

Benanteur, Graphic Works

2002

Benanteur, Paintings

2001

Poetry and Exile

Collections

National Museum of Fine Arts, Algiers, Algeria
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Algiers, Algeria
Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France
Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE
Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon
Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar
Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE

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Exhibitions

ABDALLAH BENANTEUR Artwork

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