An original person
Fernand Chatelain
Fernand Chatelain was born in 1899. Initially a baker, he later became a farmer until retirement. He and his wife, Marie-Louise, spend their new-found free time creating “naive” sculptures, which he exhibits in his own garden. The materials he uses are all salvaged: iron rods, wire mesh, newspaper, cardboard, cement and, above all, color. His inspiration: everything. Everyday life, real and imaginary animals, places and emblematic characters. What he likes is to challenge people, to make them wonder, to ask themselves questions.
Fernand Chatelain is a purely self-taught artist, with no artistic lineage or trend to speak of, and he claims nothing but the right to create. Today, he is “classified” as part of the Art Brut movement, a term coined by Jean Dubuffet in the 1940s. In 1995, the Fernand Chatelain site was awarded the “quality label of the International Fund for the Promotion of Culture” by UNESCO.