Born in Amasya, Turkey 1905. Lived in Paris, France 1968. Leon Tutundjian arrived in Paris in 1923, escaping from Genocide, and lived in France (Paris et Villejuif) to the end of his days. In Paris studied art at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and exhibited at the opening of the Galerie Surrealiste. In 1930 he co-founded the group Art Concret with well-known abstract artists Theo van Doesburg, Jean Helion, and Otto G. Carlsund. In 1933 he changed styles abruptly with the figural language of surrealism, which occupied him until 1960. In his early works Leon fought the chaos of his experience by transforming it with a balanced artistic vision into ordered and pure artworks. In 1960 he returned to abstraction and kept to it until his death in 1968. He has always been profoundly inspired by the latest scientific findings. Though he lived on the fringes of the art market, he was considered as a pioneer of the avant-gard. His works have been included in major exhibitions at Tate Modern, London (2010); GAM - Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Turin (2008): Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid (2004); The State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, the Von der Heydt Museum, Wuppertal et Musée des Beaux Arts de Bordeaux (2003); Royal Academy, London and Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao (2002); Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (1997); The Solomon R.Guggenheim Museum, New York (1979); Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin (1977); Centre Pompidou, Paris (1977); MoMA, New York (1975); Musée d’Art moderne de Strasbourg (1970). alainlegaillard.com Image courtesy of Galerie Alain Le Gaillard, Paris.