Painter and Sculptor. After learning oil painting and photography from his father Antonio Fernandez, an amateur artist, Fernandez attended the Ecole Nationale d'Art Decoratif in Nice. He also learnt judo at a police Judo School in Nice where he met the artists Yves Klein and Claude Pascal. The trio would bond closely on a subsequent hitchhiking tour of the nations of Europe. Completing his studies in 1949, Arman enrolled as a student at the École du Louvre in Paris, where he concentrated on the study of archaeology and oriental art. In 1951, Arman became a teacher at the Bushido Kai Judo School. During this time he also served in the French military, completing his tour of duty as a medical orderly during the Indo-Chinese War. Inspired by an exhibition for the German Dadaist, Kurt Schwitters, in 1954 Arman began working on 'Cachets', his first major artistic undertaking. At his third solo exhibition, held in Paris's Galerie Iris Clerc in 1958, Arman showed some of his first 2D accumulations he called 'cachets'. These stamps on paper and fabric were to prove a success and were to provide an important change of course for the young artist's career. In 1957, he chose to change the spelling of his name from Armand to Arman. On January 31, 1973, upon becoming a citizen of the United States, he took, as his American civil name, Armand Pierre Arman. Nevertheless, he continued to use 'Arman' as his public persona. From 1959-1962 Arman developed his most recognizable style, beginning with his two most renowned concepts: 'Accumulation' (collections of common and identical objects arranged in polyester castings or within Plexiglas cases) and 'Poubelle' (collections of strewn refuse). Arman was a co-founder of the Nouveau Réalisme group which reassessed the concept of art and the artist for a 20th Century consumer society by reasserting the humanistic ideals in the face of industrial expansion. In 1961, Arman made his debut in the United States, the country which was to become his home. During this period, Arman explored creation via destruction. The 'Coupes' and the 'Colères' featured sliced, burned or smashed objects arranged on canvas, often using objects with a strong 'identity' such as music instruments or bronze statues. Arman also appeared in Andy Warhol's film 'Dinner at Daley's'.