Francis Pellerin
1915–1998 · French sculptor and painter of geometric abstraction
Francis Pellerin (Cancale, 1915 - Rennes, 1998) was a French sculptor associated with geometric abstraction, who won the Prix de Rome for sculpture in 1944. He trained in artistic cabinetmaking in Rennes before studying sculpture in Paris, first in the studio of Jean Boucher and later in that of Marcel Gaumont.
After his stay at the Villa Medici between 1946 and 1948, he returned to France and settled in Rennes, where he taught at the School of Fine Arts until 1978. He produced works for public and religious buildings, such as the sculpture on the former Chamber of Commerce in Caen and the murals in Saint-Malo and Caudan. Between 1960 and 1965 he painted numerous oil canvases with abstract compositions, which he exhibited at the Hautefeuille gallery in Paris and at the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles.
His career includes a retrospective at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes in 1969 and stainless steel sculptures from the late 1970s. His legacy is preserved mainly in the collections of the Schools of Fine Arts in Rennes and Paris.