Hector SAUNIER

Hector Saunier, was born in Buenos Aires (Argentina) on February 21, 1936.  He studied architecture before leaving for Europe in 1961.  After working in metal, creating jewelry and accessories for the theatre in England, he moved to Paris in 1966, where he met Stanley William Hayter.  Artistic affinities shared by both artists were clear and immediate.  Saunier started working at Atelier 17, Hayter’s creative intaglio printmaking studio, which had been established in the late 1920s.  Saunier learned printmaking skills primarily from Hayter, who recognized his talents.  First and assistant, he became the Atelier’s associate director in 1978.  Upon Hayter’s death in 1988 Saunier became co-director.  It was eventually renamed Atelier Contrepoint, and it is still going strong today in Paris.

Hector Saunier’s prints are bold, both in line and color.  His abstraction rarely refers to reality; rather it is dictated by chromatic and compositional strengths.  These at times are meant to clash, at other times they are meant to work in unison.  His extraordinary expertise as a printer always shows.  Saunier’s prints are luscious objects which capture color in a way rarely seen in printmaking.