Foreword In the early 1980s, I purchased a wonderful unsigned cubist painting from a gallery in Paris. It was sold to me as the work of an anonymous 1930s eastern European painter. I later learned that it was in fact the work of a talented contemporary French artist named Robert Marc. At that time, Marc didn’t sign his paintings, as he believed that the signature interfered with the image, and his true identity was only revealed to me when Robert contacted me directly to inform me of his authorship. We met in Paris and quickly developed a friendship. He had a kind, charming, and genuine personality, and I took him on as an artist. His paintings, heavily influenced by the Russian Avant-Garde and the work of Rodchenko, not the Analytic Cubists, as his style would imply, were complex and superb in quality. France in the 1960s was an exciting time. Historically, student revolts and social upheavals took centre stage, but culturally, the decade boomed with jazz, literature, art, and fashion trends. While influenced by this dizzying culture, Robert Marc preferred the quiet life of the countryside and his atelier there. His various studios on his property were filled with paintings, works on paper, and tools of the trade. Walking through the studios for me was like viewing a retrospective: his earlier works, dark and saturated, and his later works, colourful, and filled with drawings and typography, met you at every turn.
In 1989, Robert had his first solo exhibition in the United States in my Madison Avenue gallery. The show of 25 paintings was a great success, both critically and in terms of sales. We sold out the entire show. Many of the works were acquired by important architects and interior designers, who placed them in very distinguished collections. Our second solo show of Marc’s work followed in 1995 with continued success. For me, the most important quality about Robert Marc was his character. He was one of the kindest people I have ever met. I believe that his intelligence, humour and vision helped him create surfaces so geometrically and richly constructed. Barry Friedman January 2011