Interview in 'Liberation' Weekend, May 2014
Friday 30th May 2014
'Quentin Blake, le crayon né'
Quentin was interviewed for the French newspaper by Sonia Delesalle-Stolper in his West London studio, describing his attachment to France (where he has a home in which he spends up to three months of the year) and his numerous publishing and arts projects there. Recalling his presentation of the Légion d'honneur in March, he said 'France is a big part of my life, of inestimable value.'
Asked about the influences which have shaped his work, Quentin attributed his particular interest in 19th century caricatures (notably the French lithographer Honoré Daumier) to the formation of his interest in illustration.
Though he continues producing illustrations for books - such as Jean de la Fontaine's 'Fables' for the Folio Society in London (2013) - much of Quentin's most recent work has been for hospitals and public spaces. The most notable of these in France was the series of over 40 drawings for the new maternity hospital in Angers (2011).
His newest works to appear in France are in an exhibition titled 'Nos Compagnons' at Galerie Martine Gossieaux in Paris; in which, as he describes, he could explore the relationship between the women in the drawings and a menagerie of strange creatures, 'a little mysterious, not identified'. The exhibiton runs at the gallery until 2 October.
Read the whole interview (in French): http://next.liberation.fr/arts/