Biography from Oise Encheres, Chantilly
Serge Shart – Artinian was born in 1927 to Armenian parents in Beirut. He received his primary and secondary education with the Jesuits. At the age of thirteen, Serge developed a passion for drawing. In 1942, he was an apprentice draftsman in the Geographic Service of the F.F.L. In 1947 he left Beirut for Italy and arrived in Paris. In 1948 he entered the School of Fine Arts and left it a fortnight later and attended the free workshops of the capital. Until 1951, he traveled, visited the great museums, discovered and became passionate about the great masters. He won his first prize for drawing at UPSALA, in 1952 he had his first exhibition in Beirut and returned to Paris. He did not stop meeting surrealist painters and participated in the Salon des Indépendants in 1955. He was also associate with the group “NouvelleVague”. He exhibited at the galleries of Paris, New-York, Caracas, Milan, Brussels, Vevey, Beirut and many cities in France throughout his career. Thereafter, he undertook a long series of travels (Scandinavia, Switzerland, United States, Orient, …). His numerous exhibitions were crowned with success (Beirut, Paris, Caracas…). The great mark of his talent can be recognized in his way of reducing to the essential the coloured stains that make up each of his works. He never loses himself in the details and his smaller paintings have the breadth and fullness that make true painting.
