Henri Cueco

Henri Cueco (19 October 1929 – 13 March 2017) was a French painter, essayist, novelist and radio personality. As a self-taught painter, his work was exhibited internationally. He was the author of several books, including collections of essays and novels. He was also a contributor to France Culture. A communist-turned-libertarian, he was a co-founder of Coopérative des Malassis, an anti-consumerist artists' collective. He was best known for The Red Men, a series of figurative paintings depicting aspects of the Cold War like the May 1968 events, the Vietnam War and Red Scare, and his 150 still lifes, or "portraits," of potatoes.

Early life Henri Cueco was born on 19 October 1929 in Uzerche, Corrèze, a rural part of France. His father, Vicente Cueco, was an immigrant from Spain and his mother was French. though his father also taught him how to paint from the age of 13. Together, they designed a politically satirical fresco called Le Grand Méchoui in 1972. The painting included the following quotation by Henri Jeanson: "Capitalism is the exploitation of men by men. Communism? It is the opposite." He exhibited his work at the Musée d'art et d'archéologie du Périgord in 2014, when he was the guest of honour at the Expoésie Festival. His last exhibition was held at La Maison Rouge in February 2017. He resided between Vigeois in his native Corrèze and Paris.

Cueco died of a kidney infection but was weakened by Alzheimer's disease on 13 March 2017 in Paris. He was 87.

Works