Claude Gilli (Nice, 1938–2015), a leading figure of the School of Nice, gave Pop Art a French voice. From the 1960s to his cut-iron monuments, he explored cut wood, Plexiglas, and “snail paintings.” Exhibited at MAMAC, Bordeaux...

Born in Nice in 1938, Claude Gilli made a name for himself in the 1960s among the free spirits of the School of Nice alongside Raysse, Ben, Arman, César, and Venet. His work, decidedly pop and deeply rooted in Nice, features a clear and colorful vocabulary: cut wood panels (often blue), experiments in Plexiglas, his famous “snail paintings,” then cut iron and monumental sculptures. Between signs, silhouettes, and umbrella pines, he composes a veritable memory of the Mediterranean. From the 1970s onwards, he exhibited in Paris, Brussels, and Venice, and benefited from landmark retrospectives (Musée de Nice, MAMAC Nice, Villa Tamaris, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux). Commander of Arts and Letters, Claude Gilli passed away in Nice in 2015; his work remains an essential signature of French Pop Art.