André Cadere (1934 - 1978)

André Cadere

André Cadere is a Romanian and French conceptual artist.

Born in Warsaw, Poland, where his father was Romanian ambassador, Cadere emigrated to France in 1967. Living in Paris since 1971, along with Daniel Buren, Neale Toroni and François Morellet, he belongs to the most important figures of French minimalism and concept art of the 1970s. Cadere's work combines a simplified formal sculptural language with a conceptual approach that questions the workings of the art system, a combination that became important to a younger generation of artists in those years.

André Cadere is best known for his series of Barres de bois rond, multicolored wooden bars, begun in 1970 and continued for eight years until his death from cancer at the age of 44. The colors of the bars on these posts form a kind of code. His work not only challenged the traditional art-making practices of the time, but was also exhibited in unconventional places. It is known cases when he uninvited them at exhibitions of other artists, thus attracting attention to his work. For these shenanigans, the artist has been called "Stick Man." Although these works fall between abstract painting and minimalist sculpture, they have been an integral part of Cadere's performances and interventions.