With its 28 exhibitors from all over France, its works in limited editions and its demonstrations open to the public, the Artpage biennial makes Octon one of the unmissable meetings for lovers of engraving, artisanal publishing and graphic arts.
While the Comédie du livre has just ended in Montpellier, another meeting for book lovers is taking place this weekend at the Octon arts village: the Artpage biennial which will celebrate its tenth edition on the banks of the Red Lake (the 15th edition in total). Except that here, craftsmanship, combining typography, drawing, engravings, poetry prints… will be in the spotlight at an event which gives pride of place to manual creation and illustration, figurative or abstract, of literary or poetic texts.
28 exhibitors from all over France
“Here, the exhibitors are all creators of handmade books. They are sometimes authors, sometimes not, they can choose the text… There is a strong link between the text and the work, in a limited edition, (often between 10 and 50 pieces)”enlighten Judith Rothchild, painter specializing in engraving, and typographer Marc Lintott. This year, 28 exhibitors from all over France will be there from this Friday until Sunday May 31 for an event which attracts a large audience of curious people, art lovers and collectors. “We can say that we do elitist work but we love to share”confides Judith while certain pieces created for the festival are sometimes kept in museums.
Collective work and jazz aperitif
One of the highlights will undeniably occur on Saturday during the creation of a collective work in which the public will be able to participate in an atmosphere. As a blank page, Saturday morning, a large wooden board will be engraved by the exhibitors on the theme of Don Quixote, in connection with the exhibition on Louis Jou which continues. The public will be able to print the work at spoon in the afternoon… Saturday evening, a jazz aperitif will be hosted, from 7 p.m., by the Bec et Nails group, a piano drum tandem with François de Larrad on keyboard and Mathieu Bec on drumsticks.
A revival of engraving
In Octon, Artpage continues to engrave in stone its letters of nobility to an art which had fallen into disuse and, today, is experiencing a well-deserved revival of recognition. “A new generation of young people is interested in engraving, the next generation is arriving”warns the artist Marc Bouchacourt. “This art was often banned from art schools in the 90s but it is coming back at a gallop. It is a very old art that the general public does not know well. And the biennial allows us to rediscover it”underlines Philippe Dumont, designer and engraver from Aveyron, who participated, ahead of the festival, in the local creation of an artist’s book presented in situ. One of the many works to discover, over a weekend, in Octon.
