SCENOGRAPHY

The exhibition Jean Gourmelin’s Worlds, Drawings (Les Univers de Jean Gourmelin, dessins) was presented at Centre Pompidou’s Forum-mezzanine from 18 June to 29 September 2008. Original works, sketch books, posters and illustrated books by Jean Gourmelin were displayed by architect Katia Samari. The scenography was arranged in three parts and around three themes.

The first part was devoted to the drawings Jean Gourmelin published in France soir, Le Figaro, Le Monde Diplomatique…etc. Nearly one hundred original drawings were displayed in showcases, some of them with the articles they were commissioned for (among others, the news weekly Le Point).

A giant screen also showed some of the drawings enlarged so that the visitor could ‘wander’ through them and examine Jean Gourmelin’s pen stroke and the graphic quality of his work.

In the second part, a wall of theatre posters, film sets and costume models was displayed, and, in showcases, some books illustrated by Gourmelin.

In the third part his more personal work was exhibited: watercolours and enlarged drawings, sometimes coloured.

In using this multifaceted scenography, we wanted to show the specificity of this artist who succeeded in presenting a unique style of drawing, with a hint of surrealism and the absurd.

Valérie Bouissou, exhibition organizer, Bpi