Jean Pigozzi


Jean "Johnny" Pigozzi, heir to the CEO of the automobile brand Simca, is an art collector, photographer, fashion designer and. He lives in Geneva.

Biography

Pigozzi is a "French-born Italian". He was born in Paris in 1952 and is the son of Henri Pigozzi, industry captain at the head of the Simca automobile brand from July 1935 to May 1963. Pigozzi studied at Harvard University before working for the Gaumont Film Company and 20th Century Fox.

Art collection

Pigozzi started collecting contemporary African art after visiting the show "Magiciens de la Terre" at the Pompidou Center and Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris in 1989. He has since assembled the world’s largest private collection of contemporary African art, together with French curator André Magnin. It is known as the Contemporary African Art Collection, and is based in Geneva. It doen'st have a permanent venue opened to the public, but has been exhibited in over sixty museums and art events around the world, such as the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston; the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco; the National Museum of African Art in Washington D.C.; the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain; the Pinacoteca Giovanni and Marella Agnelli in Turin, Italy; the Tate Modern in London; the Cartier Foundation in Paris, Paris, the Grand Palais in Paris, the Louis Vuitton Fondation in Paris, The MoMA in NY, The Venice Biennale, Venice, Documenta, Cassel, etc.
In 2006, he also started the JaPigozzi Collection of contemporary Japanese art by young Japanese artists.
In July 2019, Jean Pigozzi donated 45 contemporary African artworks to the MoMA by the following artists: Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, Jean Depara, Romuald Hazoumè, Seydou Keïta, Bodys Isek Kingelez, Abu Bakarr Mansaray, Moké, Ambroise Ngaimoko, Paramount Photographers Ltd, and Chéri Samba.

Photography

Pigozzi began taking pictures age seven. Since then, he never stopped photographing everything around him, which meant friends, dogs, icebergs, himself and a great many celebrities. His first solo exhibition of photography was at Musée d’art moderne, Paris. His photographs have since been shown worldwide.

Exhibitions

In 2007, Pigozzi created a clothing and accessories line featuring bright colors and prints called LimoLand, with the intention of designing clothing for those who “Live to Create”. He is also the creative director of the brand. As of 2010, LimoLine was sold in upscale department stores such as Bloomingdale's, Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman, and Nordstrom and had a boutique store in New York City. Pigozzi draws the sketches and outsources the technical aspects of the design and creation of his line.

Television Show

2014: "My Friends call Me Johnny," an interview program, debuted September 3, 2014 on Esquire Network.

Publications of photography books by Pigozzi