MICHEL QUAREZ (1938-) MARCHÉ AUX FLEURS. 1990. 67 1/2x46 inches, 171 1/2x117 cm. Dubois, Orleans. Condition B+: repaired tears, creases and abrasions in margins and image; scratches in image. Michel Quarez was born in Syria and studied at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. In the early 1960s, he moved to Warsaw and worked with master graphic artist Henryk Tomaszewski, who believed that a good designer must also be trained in painting and drawing . Quarez continued working in advertising until he moved to New York, where he developed a comic strip called Mode Love. Moving back to Paris, he worked as an artistic director in advertising and as an illustrator for Citroën and Marie Claire, then dedicated himself exclusively to political and cultural posters. This poster was designed on a computer - a rare case in those days. A cutting edge image at the time, Quarez's unexpectedness and wit as a designer is seen in his mimicking the segmentation of dot matrix patterns of early computer printing. The bright neon colors and a figure similar to those seen in early computer games give this a poster a modern and futuristic edge. It won the gold medal in the Toyama poster competition in Japan in 1991. Quarez was awarded the National Grand Prix for graphic arts in 1992. He is still active and a retrospective of his work was presented at the Chaumont Festival in 2008.
