Claude Abeille Français, b. 1930

Claude Abeille is a sculptor, born in 1930 and elected member of the Académie des Beaux Arts in 1992. 
He lives and works in Montreuil and Romainville. 

Student of Alfred Georges Regener at Fontainebleau and of Robert Couturier at the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs de Paris where he obtained his diploma in 1952, Claude Abeille studied at the École des Beaux-Arts as an auditor (1955) and began his study of torsos in 1956. From then until 1970 he collaborated on illustrations for the Encyclopédie de la Pléiade, edited by Raymond Queneau, and L'Univers des Formes, published by Gallimard. 

 

Alongside graphic expression, he pursued research in sculpture and was awarded the "Bourdelle de sculpture au Salon" prize in may of 1963. This recognition was followed by a solo exhibition of torsos at the Musée Bourdelle in 1964.

 

Beginning in 1967, Claude Abeille contributed to several architectural projects by creating sculptures of religious sites, scholarly establishments, etc. Namely, the Théâtre en plein air de Istres, in l'Isle-d'Abeau, close to Lyon and in   1978, the pedestrian crossroads in Montreuil.

He began working in engraving, and showed often at the Salon de Bayeux, from whom he recieved a prize  in 1975. In 1984 and 1985, he was a professor at the Ateliers de la Ville de Paris (Montparnasse) and became a founding member of the École supérieure ATEP (Art Technique et Environnement Publicitaire (Paris, 1985-1996) where he taught drawing. 

It was during these years that he developed a more intimate oeuvre of sculpture, in rock, marble, and bronze. His largest personal exhibition, in 1991, at the chapel of Saint-Louis de la Salpétrière, included works he did during this time. 

 

In 2000, he began to cultivate relations with Chinese artists and showed his sculptures and engravings regularly in China. 

Excerpt from the book  "Claude Abeille", published in 2002.