Ceramic bowl by Gilbert Valentin Les Archanges Vallauris

Gilbert Valentin (1928-2001)
Son of an artistic ironworker, he learned the technique of iron and wood sculpture. He discovered pottery in Dieulefit in 1946, took ceramics classes and did an internship at the Lunéville earthenware factory in 1948. It was in 1950 that he settled in Vallauris and founded the pottery of the Archangels. He exhibited in Paris, Milan, New York (1954-55), then Stuttgart, Faenza. In 1960, Jean Cocteau became the president of the Club des Archanges. In 1962, he exhibited his white prints in Brussels. From 1963, he set up a workshop for ironwork, in parallel with his pottery creations. He is one of the biggest names in pottery in Vallauris. Bibliography: "The Golden Age of Vallauris" by Anne Lajoix, Les éditions de l'Amateur, page 177.