Hector Saunier (1936 - 2024) - Voyageur atardé

Hector Saunier (1936 - 2024).
"Voyageur atardé" 1969
Etching signed and numbered e.a.
Sheet cm. 26 x 17,7 - Etching cm. 15 x 10.

HECTOR SAUNIER (Buenos Aires 1936 - Paris 2024) settled in Paris. In 1966, by chance he met Stanley William Hayter and decided to study printmaking at Atelier 17. Saunier learned his craft primarily from Hayter, who quickly recognized his talent. He quickly became a master of color and light, dedicating all his creative energy to the "taille-douce" technique.
Hector Saunier became an assistant at the Atelier, working closely with Hayter for twenty years. In 1978, he was appointed Associate Director of Atelier 17 and directed it during Hayter's absences.
Hector Saunier later became co-director, with Juan Valladares, of Atelier Contrepoint, the name given to the former Atelier 17 after Hayter's death in 1988.
Numerous renowned artists have worked at Atelier 17 and then at Atelier Contrepoint. In accordance with the principles championed by Hayter, printmaking is considered a means of creation rather than reproduction.
In group and solo exhibitions, Saunier has exhibited in England, France, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy, Brazil, and many other countries (Morocco, Norway, Colombia, Belgium, Malaysia, Korea, Spain, Cuba, and the United States). In the United States, his work is held in the collections of the Library of Congress, the Rosenwald Collection in Philadelphia, and the New York Public Library.
Hayter said of him: "He not only creates a space of the imagination beyond our normal experience, but draws us into another dimension of the consciousness of color itself—making us aware of the unsuspected vastness of one of the most joyful aspects of life."

Hector Saunier died in February 2024 in Paris, at the age of 88.