Pat Andrea

Biography

Pat Andrea was born in 1942 in La Haye, Holland. He currently resides and works in Arcueil. He is the son of painter Kee Andrea and illustrator Metti Naezer. Andrea won his first drawing competition when he was six years old. Despite this, Andrea’s childhood wish was to become a doctor, however after a visit to the Royal Academy of Arts in La Haye, he decided to be a painter. It was in 1960, when he enrolled at the Academy of Arts that he would meet his ‘master’, the painter Westerink as well as artists Walter Nobbe and Peter Blokhuis. Andrea finished his studies in 1965 and two years later, was awarded the Jacob Maris Drawing Prize. He then began to exhibit his works in galleries and museums all over Holland as well as Switzerland and Belgium. In the 70’s, he founded the group ABN with his peers Nobbe and Blokhuis. In 1976, he had his first exhibition in Paris at the Jean Briance Gallery thanks to an invitation from the art historian and critic, Jean Clair. After returning from Argentina after his second visit, he decided to go to Paris, where he met Antonion Segui. During the 1980’s, he worked in illustration with several cultural, artistic and literary magazines. He was also chosen by Jean Clair to exhibit at the critic’s second public exhibition. It is here that the movement Nouvelle Subjectivité was created. But it was also during this decade that Andrea would exhibit across the world in Milan, Madrid, Buenos Aires and Los Angeles to name but a few. He also built upon his reputation in Paris, showing his work at the Centre Pompidou as well as FIAC (The International Fair of Contemporary Art, held every year at the Grand Palais). In 1990, Andrea began to teach at l’Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris. He has continued to exhibit his work since. In 2002, he was elected fellow of l’Academie des Beaux Arts de l’Institut de la France.

Presentation

Exploring his interest in the themes sex, violence and death, Andrea’s oeuvre contain both erotic and disturbing characters, often female that bring these elements into life on the canvas. To look at one of his paintings is to be confronted by nude males and females, by unstable and angst-ridden figures. These scenes usually take place in geometrically sensitive locations such as a staircase or a bedroom. Andrea avoids landscapes because for him «the landscape undoes the relationship between humans, i prefer what’s behind closed doors». The figure of the dog is also a common motive in his works.