André Aleth Masson was born in 1919 in Saint-Malo. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux-arts in Rennes and then in Paris, which led him to ceramics at the end of the war. His apprenticeship took place at the ceramic school of Fontcarrade where he rubbed shoulders with César Baldaccini until 1948. He began working on ceramics in a workshop in Vincennes. Masson turned very quickly to ceramic sculptures where the object no longer exists as such, and where utility remains secondary. The ceramist proves to be a sculptor, a researcher, a creator of volumes and architectural forms. His passion for architecture is increasingly expressed. His first solo exhibition at the Galerie MAI (Meubles, Architectures, Installations) took place in 1952. This gallery was at the time one of the few places where you can discover young French designers among the masters of Design: André Bloc, Charlotte Perriand, Jean Prouvé and Gino Sarfati. The year 1954 gave him the opportunity to participate in his first show of the Society of Artists Decorators (SAD), of which he remained a member until 1980. Picture credit © Matthieu Masson