Daniel Couture
He is a French painter born in Moulins, a suburb of Paris, in 1930. After graduating from the École Nationale des Arts Appliqués et des Métiers d’Art (National School of Applied Arts and Crafts in Paris) in 1945, he began working as a commercial designer. In 1952, he married the designer Francine, and in 1955, their son Jean was born. While continuing to work as a designer, Couthures found time to paint in his Paris apartment, and over many years, he deepened his artistic expression as a painter. He began his career as a full-time painter in the 1970s,
and exhibited at leading French salons such as the Salon d’Automne and the Salon des Indépendants. He also held solo exhibitions at famous galleries in Paris and the United States, showcasing his work internationally.
Main solo exhibition galleries
Galerie Boucherie Janelle (Paris), Galerie de la Place Beauvau (Paris), Galerie Francis Barlier (Paris), Galerie Olivier (Los Angeles), Galerie Juxtapose (New Jersey), Chekin Gallery (Red Bank), Phillips Gallery (Florida)
In 1980, he left Paris and moved to Angoulême in southern France, his father's hometown, where he continued to create in a rich natural environment.
In 2004, he signed an exclusive contract with Galerie Adekat in Japan, and his works began to be actively introduced in Japan. In the same year, a solo exhibition was held at Sapporo Mitsukoshi, and it was also featured as news on Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting.
Thereafter,
exhibitions were held at department stores throughout Japan, including Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store, Hakata Daimaru, Kobe Daimaru, and Nagoya Daimaru, where he gained strong support from Japanese collectors.
In 2013, he became unable to distinguish colors and ended his long career as an artist. However, his works, filled with the happiness of light and color from southern France, are still loved by many people today.
Daniel Couthures Review
Light and Shadow, Their Drama — The World of Daniel Couthures
Daniel Couthures is a painter who has overcome life's sorrows and hardships through painting and his love for his family.
He met Francine, a designer, when he was 20 and married her at 25. As a self-employed designer, they supported each other through difficult times and raised their only son, Jean.
In their small Paris apartment, after finishing his design work, he would spend hours painting his beloved pictures. Around the time his son Jean graduated from university, Couthures left his successful design career and chose to live as a professional painter. His wife Francine continued to support him in both his work and family life.
Daniel Couthures' paintings are filled with the light and color of southern France, overflowing with the joy of life. Looking at his works, viewers are naturally enveloped in a sense of happiness.
Couthures himself said:
"Life is a series of hardships. I endured these hardships to do the work I loved, as a designer and a painter, and to protect my beloved family. I want to paint pictures that bring happiness and peace to those who sincerely live through hardships. That is why my paintings should be full of joy and hope."
— Yasuhiro Takeda, Galerie Adekat
Art critic Jean Roger Vallière says the following about Daniel Couthures' work:
"Daniel Couthures' paintings are not merely beautiful as a harmony of colors. They contain lively depictions of nature and a literary depth born from his sensibilities and experiences. Standing before his works, we are enveloped in familiar emotions and can feel a happy time. Couthures is a painter who gives us many happy moments."
(From 'Daniel Couthures Art Collection')