Jean AVY paintre-musician

Biography

    French painter, guitarist and compose, I was born in Paris Region. My childhood was very creative: I studied painting, the art of film, photography and music at the same time. Very soon I realized that art is something that's most important in life.

Music and painting have always been equal for me . And in the end, I affirm that it is not me who chosen. Painting and music chosen me.




The painter


I began to exhibit my paintings to public in France in 1982.

In 1988 I represented France in the "XXII international prize of modern art" in Monte-Carlo.

In France I repeatedly took part in various art galleries as a guest of honor.

In 1999, the Municipality of Carpentras (84) organized an exhibition of my paintings in the Chapelle du Collège.

In 2000, at Zaporizhia (Ukraine), City Art Museum has held my exhibition, organized by the «Alliance française».

in 2005 and 2006 in Paris, I held my exhibition and plastic-musical performances in the salon "Art du nu".



Jean Avy at his atelier. Versailles, 2012


Exhibition "Kiev Christian" in the church of Notre Dame. Versailles, 2011.
In 2011 at the Notre Dame de Versailles church I presented my exhibition "Kyiv Chrétien" as part of the ecumenical week.

Its aim is to present the Orthodox rites and architecture of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery in Ukraine through my pictorial works.

The public was therefore able to discover, through my eyes, an Orthodox religious universe inside the first royal Catholic church, which was built in Versailles.


Exhibition "Eternal Kyiv" at the cultural and information center of the Ukrainian Embassy in France. Paris, 2012.
In 2012 I presented my exhibition "Kyiv Eternel" at the Cultural and Information Center of the Ukrainian Embassy in Paris.

The aim of this exhibition is to highlight for the French public the universal character of the Ukrainian capital through my pictorial works.

One of my musical compositions created for bandoura (traditional Ukrainian instruments) was performed at the inauguration.


Exhibition "Listen to the painting" in the city exhibition hall "Defrish". Olivet, May 2012.
In 2012 the town hall of Olivet (French town located in the southern suburbs of Orléans) organized my exhibition at the Desfriches space entitled "Listen to the painting". This exhibition is a visual-musical concept, which allows me to link my written or improvised music to my pictorial works, through a guitaristic musical performance, that I produce on site around my paintings.

In 2014 in Paris, Cultural and Information Center of the Ukrainian Embassy in France was organized my exhibition "At the intersection of Music and Painting."


Jean AVY's exhibition at Taras Shevchenko National Museum. Kyiv, April 2015
In 2015 in Kiev (Ukraine), the National Taras Shevchenko Museum, devoted me an exhibition entitled "With Ukraine in the heart", organized by the Presidential Foundation Leonid Kuchma "Ukraine".

In 2016 I participated the exhibition "Contemporary Art in exchange of France and China", organized by the Foundation Prospective and Innovation at Futuroscope, Poitiers, France.

My paintings are in the various public and private collections in France, Switzerland, Germany, Ukraine, USA.




The musician



From 1977 to 1981, I studied at the Paris conservatory Schola Cantorum de Paris in the class of classical guitar from a professor of ancient music Javier Hinojosa.

In 1980, I took the second place in the international competition of classical guitar U.F.A.M., in Paris.

My first recitals were held in the summer of 1980 on the south-west of France, in the department of Ariege. Among others, in the «Spanish Institute of Emigration» of the Spanish Embassy in Paris in 1982.

In 1981, I got the diploma of the guitarist-virtuoso of higher conservatoire "Schola Cantorum", Paris.

In the same year I met argentine composer and guitarist Jorge Cardoso, with whom I studied:

  • knowledge and methods of guitar art ........................ 1981-1982
  • south american music ............................................... 1982-1983
  • composition ............................................................... 1983-1984


For two years 1983-1984 I was president of the music association «Les Amis de la Musique de Vaucresson» in the town of Vaucresson.

I played my compositions at the festivals:
  • "Kind theatre", Energodar, Ukraine .............................. 2000
  • "Meeting with youth", Alouchta, Ukraine ...................... 2002
  • "Molière month", Versailles, France ............................. 2004
Jean Avy. "Spanish Institute of Emigration".
Paris. 02-21-1982


Jean Avy. Festival in Alouchta.Ukraine, 2002.


Jean AVY's intervation during the conference
at the Tchaikovsky Music Academy.
Kyiv, April 28, 2015 		Member of the SACEM (the society for the protection of copyright rights of composers) since 1987, I write music for guitar, harp, bandura and chamber music (for violin and cello).
My musical compositions were performed in France, Sweden, Spain, Poland, Ukraine.

On March 18, 2011, in Epone (78), France, during the opening of the exhibition string trio played my composition "Vidala".

On January 28, 2012 at the cultural and information center of the Ukrainian Embassy in Paris, during the opening of my exhibition "Eternal Kyiv" my milonga "40 Novembers" for bandura was played.

On April 29, 2014 at the cultural and information center of the Ukrainian Embassy in Paris during the plastico-musical evening "At the intersection of Music and Painting", guitarist Ukrainian Marko Topchii interpreted my suite for guitar "Land of Ukraine" (composed in 2013).

On April 21, 2015 in Kyiv Taras Shevchenko National Museum, during the inauguration of the Franco-Ukrainian project "With Ukraine in the heart", organized by the Presidential Foundation Leonid Kuchma "Ukraine ", musicians supported by the Foundation interpreted my compositions for guitar, bandoura and string trio around my paintings.

On the occasion of my conference at Petro Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine (Kiev Conservatory), April 28, 2015, I defined the components of contemporary French music in connection with the Ukrainian current creation. To support of my words the Academy's students played two of my recent musical compositions for solo violin and string trio.

On May 2, 2017 my suite "Land of Ukraine" was performed in Lviv, during the first all-Ukrainian classical guitar festival for youth, Guitar Vik.


On September 21, 2018 the Petro Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine (Kyiv Conservatory) presented the concert dedicated to my musical compositions.

In this project entitled «The World of Music through Cultural Dialogue: France-Ukraine» my creations for guitar, string trio, violin, bandoura, duets et chœur ont été interprété par les élèves de l'Académie.
9-21-2018. Repetition before the concert at
the Petro Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine.


9-23-2018. After the concert at
the National Conservation Area "Sophia of Kyiv".
The concert "Musical Performance: France-Ukraine" took place on September 23, 2018 on the territory of the National Conservation Area "Sophia of Kyiv", where French and Ukrainian music was presented by contemporary French composer Jean Avy and Ukrainian composer-symbolist Theodore Akimenko (1876-1945).

The concert was organized and supported by Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, Petro Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine, National Conservation Area "Sophia of Kyiv" and Lions club "Kiev Ecology".

The students of Petro Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine (Kyiv Conservatory) interpreted my compositions for guitar, violin, bandoura, and a choir.
The choir «Consonance» performed my composition "Look at them", written on the words of Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko.

On the occasion of the celebration of the 220th anniversary of the birth of Honoré de Balzac, was held the presentation of the premiere of my quartet "Be blessed,Eva! » for soprano, tenor, violin and cello (the lyrics are taken from letters from Honoré de Balzac to Ewelina Hańska), at the gala reception on June 7, 2019 at the Presidium of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine. Reception organized by the Franco Ukrainian Association «Balzac Hanska».
June 7, 2019. During the gala reception
at the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine. Kyiv.


9-21-2019. After the concert.
In Balzac's cabinet in Verkhivnia. 		On September 21, 2019 during the closing of the international festival BALZAC-FEST, which took place in the old manor of the Hańska family in Verkhivnia (Zhytomyr region of Ukraine), where Honoré de Balzac wrote some works, two of my mixed choirs were performed by the Ukrainian choir "Consonance" in the presence of the French ambassador to Ukraine.







.. The pedagogue


In 1995, the Chinese National Academy of Arts the city of Xian, I was invited as a professor of painting for the training of chinese students technique of oil painting, traditional for Western Europe.

Since 1989 I published my articles about the techniques of painting in the French magazines: "Techniques des arts", "Artiste", "Pratique des arts", "Arts actualités magasine" etc.

Subsequently I directed my work for the matter researches, putting the materials, such as the sand, on the canvas. I’ve written the book "Venezia" on this subject edited by Editions Didier Carpentier.

I have published 8 books about the different painting techniques.

During my conference in France in Saint-Raphaël in October 2012 on the theme "What is art of our days?", I had the opportunity to explain the developpement of my intimate relationship between painting and music.

Since 2020, I have been supporting the Ukrainian pedagogical initiative CRESCENDO ART FORUM as an expert of the International Pupil Conference "Art without borders: the path to science»


Jean Avy with students
of Chinese National Academy of Arts.
Xian, 1995.