Those who missed the first edition of the Drawing Festival can still make their way to Arles for its second year. Over the course of a month, under the direction of the publisher, illustrator, and writer Frédéric Pajak, the event brings together personalities from the art world who showcase around a hundred illustrators
The range of artists presented is simply impressive, ranging from big names such as Felix Valloton or Oskar Kokoschka to contemporary figures like Georges Wolinski, René Goscinny, or Frédérique Loutz. This variety allows for the discovery of the multiple facets of drawing, from its classical techniques to its most modern expressions, from the most precise engravings to the quickly sketched press and mood drawings.
The exhibition venues themselves add a majestic and ancestral dimension to this experience and provide a striking setting to appreciate the artists’ creations. The chapel of the Trinitarians hosts long kakemonos covered in black ink drawings by Stéphane Calais, which are suspended from the very high walls of the building and evoke the evolution of artistic gestures through time. The very minimalist Lee Ufan Arles showcases a splendid exhibition of colorful paintings on black Canson paper by Henri Michaux. On the top floor of the building, about sixty sheets show the diversity of surrealist-inspired worlds that only the Belgian poet could create. The beautiful and vast Chapel of the Méjan hosts large yet intimate and delicate drawings by Clara Marciano or Lucile Piketty. As for the cruel and dreamlike world of Frédérique Loutz, it is observed in the vast quadrangle of the former Hôtel-Dieu, which is now the Van Gogh space.
It is impossible to mention all the names in this extensive program, however, one notices the anarchist energy of the former member of Bazooka, Kiki Picasso, who, still as virulent against the powers that be, denounces with the help of paintings and videos in garish colors the surveillance society in which we live. But above all, one admires the singular and poetic power of Robert Coutelas, who, as an outsider of the art world, has produced and painted thousands of paintings on recycled cardboard. Obsessively opposed to the art market, the artist has constructed and depicted his own myths on supports cut to the size of tarot cards, many of which are exhibited at the Réattu Museum.
While it is possible to criticize the apparent eclecticism of the event, it is important to remember that this festival is above all a celebration of love for drawing. A medium still too often associated with intimate and personal experiences, which may explain why it has not always received the same institutional recognition as other forms of art. However, if the event seeks to change this perception by highlighting the diversity and artistic depth that drawing can offer, we hope that the next edition of the festival will showcase more works by female artists and that it will open up to the diversity of cultures, not limiting itself to Europe.
Drawing Festival 2024, from April 20th to May 19th 2024 in Arles, France.