Aurel COJAN (1914-2005).
Born in Romania, Cojan is an abstract expressionist painter who spends half of his life in France.
After abandoning law and architecture studies in 1933, Cojan devotes himself to painting. He takes classes at the Fine Arts School of Bucharest but decides that these cause him more harm then good. He looks towards France and studies reproductions of Cezanne, Matisse, Picasso, Klee and Bonnard. However, the war in Romania and spread of Communism will hamper his progress and he will not be able to exhibit his works for years. It is during Brancusi’s major exhibition in Bucharest that Cojan can exhibit sixty of his paintings in 1967.
He manages to settle in Paris in 1969 after requesting political asylum. In France, he rediscovers the artists that inspired him in his younger years, yet Cojan feels closer to American expressionist painters. During the last 20 years of his life, Cojan’s art is recognized by the French State and its museums and he will be made Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Literature. He works and exhibits exclusively with the Alain Margaron Gallery in Paris.