Bernard Aubertin was born in Fontenay-aux-Roses in 1934 He studied at the State School of Decorating, a self-taught approaches to Cubism and Futurism until 1957, when he meets Yves Klein in Montparnasse Following this knowledge, especially important for him, Aubertin is tending towards the red monochrome painting His research is characterized by this moment with the red which becomes a main element of his artistic career as a color able to reflect the idea of blood, of fire, that can also allows, at the same time, something of a depersonalization of the art and a technique of anonymity The lack of satisfaction found in the context of Paris, pushes Bernard Aubertin towards the German environment where he contributes to the adventure of the Dusseldorf Zero Group founded by Mack, Piene and Uecker and where he finds his artistic achievement In the decades after the artist experiments and its artistic evolves conception through the Tableaux-clous throughout the years 1960s, to leave more space subsequently to the Tableau-feu with which marks the transition to the ephemeral; the framework, consisting of matches, lights up with live and real flame…
The series of the Livres Brules took shape in 1962 when his arsonist activity was extended to the pages of books, often very relevant from the cultural point of view Another turning point was in 1969 with the Avalanches: Aubertin elaborates the principle of the hourglass, but inside there are sand, nails, or water ash In the 1970s his work began to spread throughout the Italian territory Then follows a pause of roughly ten years with very few artworks To this period follows a full time production with Nails-framework and the monochromes and from the 1990s till now he exhibits in America as well as throughout Europe and especially France, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Italy To understand his philosophy are reported below, some of his statements that specify clearly his artistic thought: The artist who invents, in other words he stops the space-time in order to appropriate it and giving it back later to the public The theories of objectivity and its materials consequences, namely the works, appear sooner or later impregnated of the subjectivity of their authors These theories are part of the modernity for a reason: the creator, in his work, tends inevitably to the extension of his own living space, exploring the world, within his time, and in future centuries That’s why is possible to talk, about an artist, of a tendency to expand his ideas and his works From a long time, art takes to the streets, according to the linguistic expression of the critics, and achieved an influence in all directions in society: but the art continues to separate the private from the public I believe that a type of pseudo-realist art, and so prosaic, has spread The content of this art is the accusation, complaint, demonstration, pedagogy; the formulation is journalistic And more, the prosaic invalidates the feeling of reality Today’s society requires a so realistic art which appreciates those who practice If it ‘s clear that the interpretation of reality is unbearable, it is equally certain that we need to work on concrete, we must, in my view, maintain the ideal of art: the experimentation, the infinite field of the investigation Now, this art, saying about itself to be realistic, has the defect of being deprived of the chance to be sperimental: above all, no testing seems to be the message conveyed This ascertainment means that the time is totally lacking in political content The art given to the people is just for read, not to look at, to contemplate It is not awaken the desire to research I think that an art of research, where borns the discovery, builds the progress of humanity: in this sense, art and’ a political act antidemagogico I was 26 years old when I conceived the Tableaux-feau I tried to focus the senses and the spirituality from which our society is pushed off; the Tableaux-feau have the essential virtue not to separate the private from the public, to be voluntarily designed for the public To be more clear: at a higher level of thought eliminates the association Tableau-feu = Feu the tableau For me the use of red as symbol of life energy, gives me the means to steal the nonsense now attributed to the color In my work monochromatic red all psychology inherent in the traditional conception of the framework (Composition, contrast colored surfaces, forms) is replaced by lyrical obsession of a single color Is the value of this color, I am interested precisely define its importance It means this: the technique of destruction of the surface, joint to the color red (which meaning is symbolic), allows you to translate plastically the dynamic sensation Painting in red is an absolute necessity
