http://www.galeriemartel.com/prochai...hainement.html
Opening, May 4th from 6:30 PM, in presence of R. Crumb Robert Crumb
Galerie Martel
17, rue Martel
75010 Paris
01 42 46 35 09 / 06 10 19 30 02
contact@galeriemartel.fr
14h30-19h du mardi au samedi
www.galeriemartel.com
From 5 May to 5 June 2010, Galerie Martel and éditions Denoël present an important retrospective exhibition-sale of drawings by Robert Crumb.
ECCE CRUMBO
Since its publication in October 2009, THE BOOK OF GENESIS by Crumb has become both an international best-seller and an instant classic. Raising its author even higher, if possible, in the Pantheon of graphic arts. The illustration of the first book of the Bible by the most unrepentant of the Fathers of the Underground has also, as expected, incited heated debates. And not always where you would expect. Some fans of his work believed they saw a break with the past -- the renunciation by Crumb of the ideas of blasphemy, obscenity and misanthropy which, in their eyes, defined his work. However, this not only shows that they have misunderstood the work, but also that they are mistaken about Crumb’s position concerning his latest work, which actually continues the natural progression of all that preceded it.
From the very beginning -- from the first outrageously sexual representations of Zap Comix, to Mister Natural’s crazy adventures, from the Heroes of the Blues to his Kafka seamless patchwork between the life, times and works of that neurotic resident of Prague, from the facetiousness of his personal Psychopathia Sexualis to the weighty consequences of the first sin of Adam and Eve -- to what has Crumb devoted all his efforts and his life ? To an unrelenting, feverish, anguished chronicling of Man. “And woman,” adds a malicious voice. Yes, woman, too. But above all, the strange, perilous, anxiety-provoking, ecstatic, tragic human condition.And it is in that light and from that angle, that one should approach this exhibition. All the bodies and faces, the portraits depicting the human figure across time, the atmospheres, the impulsions they invoke, through Crumb Himself: here is Man -- Ecce Crumbo.
A few lines about Robert Crumb
From the very first Zap Comix, sold on the streets of the Haight Ashbury of San Francisco’s Summer of Love of 1967, Robert Crumb was defined as one of the Founding Fathers of underground comics. His reputation spread world-wide, propagated by an alternative press in full development. In France, it was Actuel that first published his work. His icons, Mr Natural, Fritz The Cat, Mr Snoid, marked the epoch, and three generations of readers and artists. His immense work is spread over different styles, from the grotesque to documentary realism, from slapstick to auto-fiction. He illustrated Bukowski, Kafka, Sartre and Philip K. Dick. His cover of the iconic Cheap Thrills album by Janis Joplin is found in every discothèque worthy of that name. A big collector of 78 rpm record, he also produced a considerable number of images and stories about heroes of jazz, blues, country and musette. His work, anchored in the tradition of American folk art, also draws on the great masters, Bosch or Bruegel the Elder, whose robust humour and strength of expression he shares. For the past fifteen years, he has lived in the south of France with his wife, Aline Kominsky-Crumb. In 2005, Denoël Graphic published his very first book, The Yum Yum Book, drawn when he was 19 years old, and, in 2009, his most recent book, The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb.
Jean-Luc Fromental
LA GALERIE MARTEL
The goal of the Galerie Martel, which was created en November 2008, is to show a little-known aspect of the work of exceptional graphic artists, whether they are famous or as yet u0ndiscovered. After exhibitions of work by Alberto Breccia, Milton Glaser, Art Spiegelman, Tomi Ungerer, Lorenzo Mattotti & Lou Reed, José Muñoz and Roland Topor, the gallery now presents an important exhibition of the work of Robert Crumb.
PUBLICITY DIRECTOR
Sylvie Chabroux (asc)
01 48 42 19 10 / 06 64 25 48 42
sylvie@chabroux.com