Claude Gaveau: The Artistic Journey
Born in 1940 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Claude Gaveau is an accomplished artist with an extensive educational background in the fine arts. He began his formal training at the Ecole des Arts Appliqués in Paris, dedicating five years to the study of mural and fresco painting, tapestry design, and stained-glass craftsmanship. Further refining his skills, Gaveau then enrolled in the Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris for six years, excelling in multiple mediums including oil painting, watercolor, drawing, and lithography.
Gaveau’s artistic prowess was recognized early in his career when he won the prestigious first prize from the Academy of Antwerp. This achievement earned him a scholarship to study Flemish painting in Belgium, culminating in his inaugural solo exhibition in Brussels in 1965. Over the subsequent years, Gaveau’s work has been featured extensively, beginning with exhibitions at the Galerie Vauban in Dijon and including multiple solo shows at esteemed galleries like Galerie La Belle Gabrielle in Paris.
In 1980, Gaveau debuted his first solo exhibition at Wally Findlay Galleries International in New York, an affiliation that continues to this day. Critic André Weber has characterized Gaveau’s work as “symphonic,” highlighting the harmonious interplay of color, structure, and emotion. His pieces, ranging from landscapes and seascapes to nudes, couples, still lifes, and florals, captivate viewers by drawing them into his rich, inner world. His style, although rooted in reality, flirts with abstraction, thereby adding a layer of enigma. The diffuse contours within his works contrast vividly with blocks of intense color, giving a sense of both definition and suggestion.
Gaveau has also received numerous accolades in group exhibitions, including the Victor Choquet Prize at the Salon de la Marine and the First Prize of the Government Princier at the Salon de Monaco. His original works were exclusively showcased by the esteemed Wally Findlay Galleries, with locations in New York City, Chicago, and Beverly Hills.
Selected Solo Exhibitions:
1965-Galerie de l’Angle Aigu, Brussels
1968-Galerie St. Placide, Paris
1968-Galerie Vauban, Dijon
1972-1975 – Galerie La Belle Gabrielle, Paris
1978-Galerie La Belle Gabrielle, Paris
1980-1992 – Wally Findlay Gallery, New York
Chicago, Beverly Hills, Palm Beach
View works by Claude Gaveau.