Pierre Boffin

Pierre Boffin, who was born under the artist’s name Hugo Joseph Winz, was born in Aachen on November 30, 1907 and died in Voerde in 1992. He was a talented Franco-German painter who is known for his contribution to Expressive Realism. Due to the ban on his work during the 1940s, he belongs to the group of the “Lost Generation”

Pierre Boffin came from a diverse cultural background, with a mother from Verviers in France and a father from the Black Forest. He established himself in the art world under the artist’s name Pierre Boffin. The National Socialist era brought an artistic blockade for Boffin and many of his colleagues. During the Second World War, he was taken prisoner of war in Attichy, France, where he became close friends with the painter August Phillip Henneberger. In 1943, he published his story “Der Schmied vom Ulex”. After the war, the Americans hired him to edit a magazine for prisoners of war. During this time, he also appeared as an author and editor.

Boffin lived for a long time in Belgium, France and the Netherlands and devoted himself intensively to painting. He was initially self-taught before developing his skills under the guidance of Antoni Clavé in Paris. He studied at the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs de Paris, an institution where renowned artists such as Fernand Léger and Leon Dabo also taught. Boffin spent several years in Paris before continuing his training with the Dutch painter Henry ten Holt and attending his painting class in Bergen. During this time, he deepened his skills in handling colors and color palettes. In his tribute to Boffin, the writer Theodor Seidenfaden mentioned their work together in Altea.

His first exhibition took place in 1947 in Paris at the Salon des Indépendants and caused a sensation with its expressive realism. Further exhibitions followed in Paris between 1952 and 1970, including at the Société Nationale des Beaux Arts, the Exposition Decouvrir, the Salon “Artiste Francais” and the Salon Teeres Latines. During this time, he was represented by galleries such as the Galerie Main in Montparnasse, the Galerie Marseilles in Paris and the Galerie Foyer des Artistes. He then spent three years at the Kunstschule Düsseldorf, where he expanded his expertise in painting, free graphics and stage design under the guidance of Rolf Sackenheim. During this phase, Boffin intensified his efforts in the field of graphic art and printmaking. He also took art history courses with Professor Heinrich Theissing.

In London, his works were presented together with those of Heyssial and Georges Delplanque. Many of his artworks found a place in private collections and secured his livelihood. In the 1970s, Boffin increasingly shifted the focus of his work to Germany. His works were shown in international exhibitions such as the art exhibition in Kirn, the “Villa Engelhard” in Düsseldorf and at film festivals in Geneva and Strasbourg until the late 1980s.

His graphic works were represented by the Galerie Moderne II in Brussels, while his paintings were exhibited at the Galerie Schöppe in Munich and the Galerie Campo in Antwerp. Even at the advanced age of 80, Boffin organized a presentation of his work for Russia, which took place in Vilnius, Lithuania, in 1988 and attracted a great deal of attention.

Until his death in 1992, Pierre Boffin lived in Vörde on the Lower Rhine, where his studio was also located at Bahnhofstrasse 153.

In his early works, Boffin mainly devoted himself to landscape painting. Capturing the atmosphere of a landscape and interpreting the tense moment of a place and light were recurring themes in his work. Nevertheless, his main focus was on the depiction of people, in which he emphasized the interplay between inner emotions and outer appearance. His figures were never reduced to idealized beauty; rather, Boffin portrayed his characters with great curiosity and directness. He was characterized by an expressive, powerful and masterfully composed colour palette.

His works with erotic motifs reflected a sensual contemplation that was often combined with deeper symbolism and the meaning of sexuality. His late work also revealed radical confrontations with current political events, which he brought directly and challengingly to the canvas.

Boffin also used the medium of woodcuts and linocuts. Only a few small-format watercolors are known on the art market. Most of Boffin’s works are privately owned. Boffin’s entire artistic estate, including oil paintings, watercolors, drawings and prints, as well as documentation of his exhibitions and originals of his poems and dedications from his circle of friends, are managed by KunstKontor in Wiesbaden.