André Bricka, son of upholsterer Alfred Bricka, was born in Strasbourg in 1922. With his high school years at the Lycée Fustel de Coulanges barely behind him, Bricka was drafted into the German military to fight against Russia. He deserted, was sentenced to death, and was eventually freed in 1944. Following these tumultuous and emotionally draining events, Bricka enrolled at the École supérieure des arts décoratifs in his native Strasbourg. After graduating, he founded the ‘Groupe de l’Issue’ with Roger Max and others, and moved to Paris to complete his artistic training under André Lhote, as well as attending the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Montparnasse from 1946 to 1948.
Once he returned to Strasbourg, Bricka opened his studio, took part in national exhibitions and was commissioned for a number of public pieces. Bricka’s commissions from this period included the Colmar hospital chapel (1953), Kunheim, Birlenbach and Boofzheim churches (1955, 1956) and mosaics and wall art for schools in Strasbourg, Sélestat and Colmar (1958). During this time, he founded another collective with the support of the President of the Independent Alsatian Artists group, J-J Hueber.
Emboldened by these experiences, he obtained a teaching position at Strasbourg’s École supérieure des arts décoratifs, where he taught academic drawing from 1956 to 1975. He was rewarded for his contribution to the arts during these years in academia with the title of Chevalier des Arts et Lettres in 1971.
Following his successful tenure, Bricka, who had spent most of his career in his native city, decided to travel the world and visit Greece, Spain, Italy and Northern Africa – all destinations which inspired his work, colours and motifs.
Bricka passed away in Strasbourg in 1999.
