Born in Paris, Frederic Halbreich is a self-taught artist working as a painter, poet and musician. The artist completed his studies at the Academy of Fine Art, Watermael-Boitsfort and continued his studies in Paris. He also taught at the same institute for a period of time during the significant course of Roger Somerville.
The artist uses the lacquer technique in his works, which stands alone as a unique approach. He got trained in lacquer in Russia. He has been inspired by leading abstract expressionists, especially Franz Kline. Apart from this, the artist is influenced by other American abstract expressionists like Mark Rothko and Cyford Still. In his early career, the artist was influenced by artists like Poliakof, among others. Hence, the artworks retain an abstract expressionist language. Reminded of Rothko, the division of space and the selection of colour provide us with a psychological context that sustains throughout his repository of paintings.
The artist's early works display the use of materials like jute with heavy paint. Eventually, the artist moved towards the medium of lacquer and monochromatic images. Remarkably, music serves as fuel to his works. Similarly to abstract expressionism, music, too, holds an ephemeral quality, wherein composers like Giacinto Scelsi or Morton Feldman’s music are some of the examples with which his artworks resonate.