Pace Editions, the primary publisher of Jean Dubuffet’s prints and multiples in the 1970s and 1980s, will exhibit a select group of these works, emblematic of the L'Houloupe period, at Pace Prints, 32 East 57th Street, third floor, from December 4, 2014, to January 10, 2015.
Dubuffet created his first print project in 1944. His dedication to printmaking and its possibilities in various media represent important contributions to the emergence of printmaking as a vital area of artistic creativity in the decades following World War II.
Of the many notable works in this exhibition, three print projects are particularly important:
Faits Memorables (Portfolio) (1978) Dubuffet created a matrix of individual, overlapping, and screened L’Hourloupe figures and colorful, abstract patterns as the first step in his process. Each element was then independently screen printed. After each individual element was added to the matrix, the entire matrix was screened. The result is unique in that these prints appear to be collages when in fact they are completely flat surfaces.
Site de Memoire III (1979) Dubuffet’s black and white L’Houloupe drawings are some of the most iconic of his images. This monumental silkscreen on canvas resulted from his idea to significantly increase the scale of his drawings.
Parcours (1981) Dubuffet was inspired by a Joan Miró scroll. In creating his scroll, Dubuffet selected twelve black–and-white drawings as the matrix in creating the scroll, transforming these drawings into a parade of figurative images.
In addition, the exhibition will include several other of Dubuffet’s multicolored L’Hourloupe screenprint editions and multiples that were created during these two post-war decades.
The exhibition runs concurrent with Jean Dubuffet: Soul of the Underground at the Museum of Modern Art, on view from October 18, 2014–April 5, 2015.