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Max Wechsler

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Max Wechsler
Born(1925-06-01)1 June 1925
Berlin
Died12 May 2020(2020-05-12) (aged 94)
Paris
Resting place
Père Lachaise Cemetery
CitizenshipFrench
Known forSurrealist and abstract typographical art
SpouseChristine Fleurent

Max Wechsler (1 June 1925 – 12 May 2020) was a French painter, draughtsman, collage and mixed-media artist. His work was in the Surrealist and Abstract traditions.[1][2]

Early life

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Max Wechsler was born in June 1925 in Berlin, to a Jewish family. His father was a clerk.[3] In January 1939, aged 13, he was sent on his own to Paris to stay with an uncle, in the aftermath of Kristallnacht.[4][5] His parents and grandparents, who remained in Berlin, were deported and murdered at Auschwitz in 1943.[6]

During the German invasion of France, he was taken in at the Maison des enfants de Moissac[7] through the network of the Éclaireurs israélites de France (EIF) (Jewish Scouting Movement of France), leading to his first encounter with painters. After the German occupation of the southern section of France, he crossed into Switzerland on 23 January 1943 and joined the Davesco camp near Lugano. At the end of the war he returned to Paris.[5][8]

He began his artistic career as an illustrator and graphic designer at the children's weekly cartoon newspaper Vaillant,[9] a role he continued part-time until the early 1990s, mainly for the Presses de la Cité group. His encounters with the painter Serge Fiorio[10] during the war in Moissac, and later with René Moreu, then editor-in-chief of Vaillant, proved to be significant.

Career as an artist

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His early paintings, from 1958 to 1972, were abstract, influenced by Surrealism.[5] These were painted with oils on plywood and canvas and represented an expression of his traumatic wartime experiences. His first solo exhibition was in 1968 as part of the ARC initiative at the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris.[2]

Between 1973 and 1977, he voluntarily ceased painting.[11] He later explained how he rejected his earlier work as being too intellectual and "trapped in grief".[3] When he resumed his work in 1978, he turned towards abstraction: a series of works on canvas with striated surfaces, as if slashed into the material.[4]

In 1984, he abandoned the stretcher frame and began producing large-scale works incorporating collages of various materials, papers and newspapers, creating a dense, thick surface. He titled this body of work Recouvrements papiers (Paper overlays). These monumental formats were inspired by the spacious studio he acquired in 1985 in the Bastille district, where he worked until the end of his life.[4] In 1986, he exhibited these large-format works at Galerie Jean Fournier in Paris.[12]

In 1989, he befriended critic and poet Maurice Benhamou [fr], marking the beginning of a long friendship and collaboration.[4]

From 2006, the artist returned to his birthplace, Berlin, with several significant exhibitions, including at the Jewish Museum Berlin, Villa Oppenheim [de], Galerie KunstbüroBerlin[13] and the Berlinische Galerie, to which he donated some of his work in 2010.[3][4]

In 2003, he was awarded the Maratier Prize by the Pro mahJ Foundation, which supports the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme.[14] Wechsler exhibited there several times and donated art work to the museum in 2017.[15]

Elsewhere in Paris, Wechsler exhibited at the Galerie Guislain – États d’Art, Galerie ETC[16] and Galerie Dutko.[17] He also exhibited at the Hiéron Museum in Paray-le-Monial[18], to which he likewise made a donation. The major donation to the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, the host of his first solo exhibition, which he initiated in 2018 and completed by his wife, was presented in the museum’s permanent collections in 2025 and 2026.[19]

He created his final works in 2019 and died in Paris on 12 May 2020, at the age of 94 years.[6] He is buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery (86th division).

Artistry

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His early surrealist-inspired compositions, from 1958 until 1972, were described by Pierre Gaudibert as “organic unfoldings, [...] expansions of coils, swellings and fissures”, and characterised by Alfred Pacquement as “symbolic figures reflecting a work of suffering”. These pieces were exhibited by Pierre Gaudibert at the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris during the first ARC exhibition in 1968.[20]

After 1968, he shifted from painting to large crumpled paper surfaces, and by the early 1990s to works made from photocopied, cut, and mounted text fragments.[5] He became interested in the letter as a form, experimenting with it through erasure, fragmentation, destruction, or by embedding it into works of often monumental size.[2] Referring to his large- and small-scale papiers marouflés (glued-on papers), Wechsler stated: The letter, ceaselessly transformed, destructured, resists, reveals itself to be indestructible... I am fond of associating what will be forever unseen and what remains indelible.”[14]

Art critic and friend Maurice Benhamou described his work as having an “indefinable tonality,” marked by layered light, one “beyond the letter” and one “beneath it.”[6]

Selected solo exhibitions

[edit]
  • 1968: Max Wechsler: peintures, ARC, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. (Catalogue written by Pierre Gaudibert)[2]
  • 2003: Max Wechsler, Musée d’Art et d’Histoire du Judaïsme, Paris, Collection Jüdisches Museum Berlin[21]
  • 2006: Max Wechsler: Unter der Oberfläche, Villa Oppenheim, Berlin[3]
  • 2013: Max Wechsler: Klang der Sprache, Gœthe-Institut, Paris[22]
  • 2014: Max Wechsler: at Hôtel Frison, exhibition curator: Frédéric Guislain, Brussels[23]
  • 2017: Donation Max Wechsler, Musée d’Art et d’Histoire du Judaïsme, Paris[14]
  • 2017: Max Wechsler: de la lettre au signe,  Journées Européennes du Patrimoine, Abbatiale Saint Férréol d’Essômes-sur-Marne.[24]

Selected group exhibitions

[edit]

Posthumous exhibitions

[edit]
  • 2023: Max Wechsler, galerie ETC, Paris[24]
  • 2023: Max Wechsler, galerie Faider, Brussels[26]
  • 2023: Max Wechsler: un parcours, galerie Dutko, Paris[27]
  • 2025: Brand New!: dons récents aux collections, (recent acquisitions) (group exhibition), MAMC+, Saint-Étienne[28]
  • 2025: En vis-à-vis, joint show with Mathieu Bonardet[15]
  • 2025: Max Wechsler: chemins croisés, galerie Dutko, Paris[5]
  • 2025: Poetics of Substraction, Niso Gallery, London.[29]

Permanent collections

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Fichiers des décès - Répertoire INSEE" [INSEE death records 2020, line no. 279957]. INSEE (in French). Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Wechsler, Max". Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Oxford: Oxford University Press. October 31, 2011. doi:10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.b00195235. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Müller, Kai (January 21, 2006). "Kultur: Meine Bilder atmen für mich" [Culture: My paintings breath for me]. Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Berlin. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Bio". Max Wechsler legacy website. Paris. November 10, 2025. Archived from the original on December 9, 2025. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Casadesus, Frédérick (October 18, 2025). ""Chemins croisés": le peintre Max Wechsler à la galerie Dutko" [“Crossed Paths”: Painter Max Wechsler at the Dutko Gallery]. Réforme (in French). Paris. Archived from the original on November 7, 2025. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 "L'artiste Max Wechsler s'est éteint". Le Quotidien de l'Art (in French). June 4, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Max Wechsler est décédé" [Max Wechsler is deceased]. moissac-ville-de-justes-oubliee.org (in French). Archived from the original on February 24, 2026. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  8. ↑ Cohen, Richard I. (August 26, 2021). "Research Guides: France in WW II: The French Resistance: Jewish Resistance". Research Guides at Library of Congress. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Vaillant (Paris)". data.bnf.fr (in French). Retrieved February 9, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Serge Fiorio – MANAS". musees.laval.fr. Retrieved February 9, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Max Wechsler". Meer (in French). September 24, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  12. ↑ Philippe, Dagen (November 1, 1986). "Max Wechsler, Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris, France, 13/09-09/10/86 - artpress" (in French). Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Biografie". KunstBüroBerlin (in German). Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  14. 1 2 3 "Max Wechsler's donation | Musée d'art et d'histoire du Judaïsme". www.mahj.org. February 23, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2026.
  15. 1 2 "Vis-à-Vis, Paris, France, 21e siècle, 1er quart | Musée d'art et d'histoire du Judaïsme". www.mahj.org (in French). May 29, 2017. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Coming soon". galerie-etc.com. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  17. ↑ "MAX WECHSLER". Galerie Dutko. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  18. 1 2 "Max Wechsler – Musée du Hiéron". Musée du Hiéron – Museum's official website (in French). October 20, 2020. Archived from the original on November 12, 2025. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Donation Max Wechsler | Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris". www.mam.paris.fr. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Archives de l'exposition "Max Wechsler", [présentée à l'ARC du 26 novembre au 30 décembre 1968] | Paris Musées". www.parismuseescollections.paris.fr. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Max Wechsler". Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme (in French). Paris. October 19, 2015. Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Exhibitions". Max Wechsler legacy website. Paris. November 10, 2025. Archived from the original on December 9, 2025. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Exposition: Max Wechsler à l'Hôtel Frison, Bruxelles". Narthex (in French). Brussels. October 11, 2024. Archived from the original on February 23, 2026. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  24. 1 2 "Max Wechsler 9 mars - 15 avril 2023" (PDF). Paris: Galerie ETC. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  25. ↑ "Berlinische Galerie: Die Schenkungen Herbert Kaufmann und Max Wechsler". Berlin. 2010. Archived from the original on February 23, 2026.
  26. ↑ "1 Exhibitions and Events - Galerie Faider". MutualArt. February 24, 2026. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  27. ↑ "Max Wechsler: un parcours - 28 May 2023". Galerie Dutko. April 27, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  28. 1 2 "Brand New!". MAMC. November 9, 2024. Archived from the original on April 27, 2025. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  29. ↑ "Best London Shows this September, Marcus Cope and More". Whitewall. September 22, 2025. Archived from the original on December 20, 2025. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  30. ↑ "Collection search: Wechsler, Max". Musée D'art Moderne de Paris. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  31. ↑ "Max Wechsler, Sans Titre". Centre Pompidou. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  32. ↑ "Collections Max Wechsler". Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme (in French). February 24, 2026. Archived from the original on February 24, 2026. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  33. ↑ "Jüdisches Museum Berlin – Sammlung online". Jüdisches Museum Berlin – Sammlung online (in German). February 24, 2026. Archived from the original on February 24, 2026. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  34. ↑ "Wechsler, Max - online collection". Berlinische Galerie (in German). July 17, 2024. Archived from the original on January 24, 2025. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  35. ↑ Centre national des arts plastiques. "Collection: Max Wechsler". Navigart.fr (in French). Archived from the original on February 24, 2026. Retrieved February 24, 2026.

Bibliography

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Monographie

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  • Ruth Martius (dir.), Max Wechsler. Respiration du silence, Berlin, Jovis Verlag, 2012.

Exhibition catalogues

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  • Max Wechsler. Peintures, introduction de Pierre Gaudibert, Paris, musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris, 1968.
  • Maurice Benhamou, Max Wechsler. L’immobilité, autrement dit le silence, Paris, Éditions Espace-Abstraction, 1990.
  • Maurice Benhamou, Quatre peintres de la couleur tensive, Paris, Éditions Espace-Abstraction,1997.
  • Max Wechsler, Autrement dit, textes de Maurice Benhamou, René Guiffrey, Saralev H. Hollander, Rütjer Rühle, Max Wechsler, Paris, Éditions Espace-Abstraction, 2002.
  • Max Wechsler. Unter der Oberfläche, Papiers marouflés, Berlin, Villa Oppenheim, 2006.
  • Max Wechsler. Entfaltung der Tiefe, Berlin, Villa Oppenheim, 2007.
  • Maurice Benhamou, De la peinture, Paris, galerie ETC, 2019.

Articles

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  • Maurice Benhamou, « Max Wechsler », dans Une collection pour la grande arche, Paris, AXA - Caisse des dépôts et consignations,1989.
  • Maurice Benhamou, « L’immobilité autrement dit le silence », dans De la peinture à proprement parler, Paris, L’Harmattan, 2011.
  • Maurice Benhamou, « Max Wechsler. Dessins », Sans Titre 1 et Sans titre 2, Paris, Éditions Espace-Abstraction, 2014.
  • Maurice Benhamou, « Le vide et la lettre », dans Max Wechsler, Paris, galerie ETC, 2019.
  • Annika Brockschmidt, « Flüstertone », Der Tagesspiegel, Berlin, 14 juillet 2012.
  • Dominique Dendraël, « Infiniment », dans Max Wechsler, en signe de vie, Paray-le-Monial, musée du Hiéron, 2012.
  • Dominique Dendraël, « Max Wechsler à St Matthäus-Kirche de Berlin », décembre 2014.
  • Dominique Dendraël, « L’infini de la création », L’Art en partage, Paray-le-Monial, musée du Hiéron, 2018, p. 20-27
  • Lydia Harambourg, « Max Wechsler, plis et replis », Gazette de l’hôtel Drouot, Paris, février 2005.
  • Andreas Haus, “Max Wechsler/Schriftfragmente », Kunstverein Kunsthaus Potsdam, Potsdam, 2013.
  • Heidi Jäger, « Aufgebrochene Sprachlosigkeit » Potsdamer Neueste Nachrichten, Potsdam, 23 février 2012
  • Kai Müller, « Meine Bilder atmen für mich », Der Tagesspiegel, Berlin, 22 Janvier 2006.
  • Michel Nuridsany, « Silence radieux, Max Wechsler à contre-courant », Le Figaro, Paris, octobre 1990.
  • Alfred Pacquement, « Max Wechsler, Sans titre, 1986 », Paris, Fonds national d’art contemporain, 1989.
  • Heinz Stahlhut, « Wortmaterial », Museums Journal, Berlin, avril-juin 2010, p. 59.
  • Cathie Silvestre, « À la rencontre de Max Wechsler », Esquisse(s), n° 5, automne 2013.
  • Elisabeth Wagner, « Materiale Nachbarschaften. Max Wechslers Papiers Marouflés », Literarische Nachbarschaften, Die Mosse-Lectures an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, n° 8, 2016, p. 79-96.
  • Daniel Zaoui, « En écho à Max Wechsler », Esquisse(s), n° 5, automne 2013.
  • Jeannette Zwingenberger, « Werke aus Wortwirbeln », ParisBerlin, Paris, juin 2013, p.74-79.
[edit]
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