'Nos Compagnons' at Galerie Martine Gossieaux
Monday 7th April 2014
Exhibition of new drawings in Paris
In this new suite of drawings, Quentin Blake gathers together some characteristic observations from the beaches of a parallel world; one which, nevertheless, can in some respects strikingly resemble our own.
Quentin writes:
'The extraordinary gallery of Martine Gossieaux in the rue de l'Université has for twenty years shown the works of a galaxy of graphic talents, and especially of the great Sempé; so that when Martine invited me to put on a show of my own drawings there I felt especially privileged.
I had recently started some exploratory drawings of young women accompanied by strange creatures, and so I continued the series especially for the exhibition. In the end there were more than seventy drawings. The interest for me lies in drawing the movements and gestures of the young women and their companions and suggesting the varied relationships. One of the attractions of drawing is that it lends itself easily to metaphor - so you may like to think of these people, even though scaly or hairy, as pets, children, brothers, boyfriends - perhaps even husbands? You will know best.'
The new works are accompanied by a selection of drawings from recent works with a French influence, notably, among others, 'Candide' and 'Fifty Fables of La Fontaine' (both published by the Folio Society, London), and work for a children's hospital near Paris.
The show is at Galerie Martine Gossieaux, 56 rue de l'Université, 75007 Paris from 10 April - 2 October 2014. For more details and gallery opening hours, visit the Galerie Martine Gossieaux website