Paul Păun

Paul Păun or Paúl Yvenez (born Paul Zaharia; September 5, 1915 – April 9, 1994) was a Romanian Surrealist artist and writer, as well as a trained physician.

Biography

Păun was a native of Bucharest. Inspired mostly by Geo Bogza's style, he debuted in 1930 in the Surrealist magazine Alge. In 1933, he and his colleagues (Gherasim Luca, Aurel Baranga, Sesto Pals and the painter Jules Perahim) were prosecuted on charges of pornography. Among the other magazines to which he contributed were unu, Azi, Viaţa Românească, Viaţa imediată, Meridian, and Reporter.

After 1939, Păun became a member of the Romanian Surrealist group, along with Luca, Gellu Naum, Virgil Teodorescu and Dolfi Trost. After 1947, when Surrealism faced a backlash in Communist Romania, Păun left the country and settled in Israel. He was exhibited in various galleries in Tel Aviv, Haifa and London. He died in Haifa in April 1994.

Literary works

Poetry

• Plămânul sălbatec ("The Savage Lung"), Bucovina Typography, Bucharest, 1939 (with two gouaches by Jules Perahim)
• Marea palidă ("The Great Example"), Surrealist Collection, Bucharest, 1945
• La vie extérieure ("The Exterior Life"), 1948
• La rose parallèle ("The Parallel Rose"), Haifa, 1975

Essays and other prose

• Elitele conducătoare ("The Leading Elites"), in Cuvântul Liber, 1935
• Diamantul conduce mâinile ("The Diamonds Leads the Hands"), with Virgil Teodorescu and Dolfi Trost, Bucharest, 1940
• Critica mizeriei ("The Critique of Misery"), with Gellu Naum and Virgil Teodorescu, Surrealist Collection, Bucharest, 1945
• L'Infra-Noir ("The Infrablack"), with Gellu Naum, Gherasim Luca, Virgil Teodorescu and Dolfi Trost, Surrealist Collection, Bucharest, 1946
• Éloge de Malombre ("Malombra's Eulogy"), with Gellu Naum, Gherasim Luca, Virgil Teodorescu and Dolfi Trost, Surrealist Collection, Bucharest, 1947
• Les esprits animaux ("The Animal Spirits"), Infra-Noir Collection, Bucharest, 1947
• La conspiration du silence ("The Conspiracy of Silence"), Infra-Noir Collection, Bucharest, 1947