Robert Malaval

Born in Nice in 1937, Robert Malaval develops a body of work whose materials and processes evolved from the wax and stearin of the « Aliments blancs » to stencil impressions, and then to glitter, which sometimes became the very material of the painting. After being expelled from Lycée Félix-Faure, he undertook a two-year apprenticeship in radio electronics. His first solo exhibition, « Peintures Reliefs », was held in April 1961 at Galerie Alphonse Chave in Vence.

In 1962, the same gallery presented « Les envahissements de l’Aliment Blanc », the first public presentation of this series. For these works, Malaval used stearin and wax, among other materials, which took the form of whitish, organic protuberances. The following year, he extended this research with the concept of « Aliment Blanc cultivable »: objects or casts overtaken by the stearin of a lit candle. Having left Provence, he settled in Paris in 1964 and resumed drawing.

From 1969, he abandoned relief and made stencil impressions on canvas, applying acrylic with stencils and a spray gun. In 1971, he presented « Transat-Marine-Campagne Rock’n’Roll & 100 demi-heures de dessin quotidien » at the Centre national d’art contemporain in Paris, an exhibition that attests to his interest in the relationship with the public and the intersection of different worlds. His activities also included creating a children’s game and a screenprint album devoted to the Rolling Stones.

Glitter appeared in his work from 1973, first as a pigment and then as a central material. His work also includes meticulous drawings, deformed objects and small relief paintings. In the series « Kamikaze fin du monde », dated 1977 to 1980 in one source, paint and glitter are combined; he also used this title on a painted garment. In June 1980, the « Attention à la peinture » pirate exhibition at the Maison des arts de Créteil brought together two hundred pastels, drawings and paintings. Malaval’s works are held, among other collections, by the Centre Pompidou – Musée national d’art moderne, the Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Centre national des arts plastiques and the Musée d’Art contemporain de Marseille. Publications devoted to the artist include Gilbert Lascault’s book Malaval, published in 1984, and Michel Braudeau’s Étoile de Malaval, published in 2005.

Works recorded at auction

Sotheby’s · Lot 82

Macérateur, 1960

Robert Malaval 1937 - 1980 Macérateur, 1960 Mixed media on canvas Signed upper right; titled and dated on the reverse 46 x 33 cm (unframed); 53 x 39.5 cm (framed)

Catalogue period : 2021-06-08 — 2021-06-15

Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed

Estimate : 7000 – 10000 CHF

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Germann

Resistance, 1977

Mixed media and glitter on heavy paper.

Original catalogue wording

Résistance, 1977
Mischtechnik und Glitzer auf festem Papier.

Date to be documented

Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed

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