LOUSTAL Simenon, L'ostrogoth

From 11 October to 4 November 2023, the Huberty & Breyne | Les Arts dessinés gallery is delighted to be hosting a new exhibition devoted to the work of French comics artist Jacques de Loustal.

“I prefer collaborating with writers whose style I admire,” says the artist. “While focusing on the image, I like to try out new graphic approaches, avoid being bound by a particular style and vary my drawing tools.”

Jacques de Loustal’s imaginative worlds and drawing technique are a perfect match for the work of George Simenon, creator of that famous fictional detective Jules Maigret. And having illustrated several novels and short stories by Simenon, Loustal was an obvious choice for comics writers José-Louis Bocquet and Jean-Luc Fromental (with help from John Simenon) when it came to narrating episodes from the life of the celebrated Belgian thriller writer.

Simenon, l’Ostrogoth looks back at the magnificent exploits of Régine Renchon and George Simenon, two individuals eager for adventure who, as newly-weds, left for Paris in a bid to launch their careers, she as an artist and he as a writer. This exhibition brings together paintings, watercolours and charcoal drawings that focus on the George Simenon story.

Loustal was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1956 and lives and works in Paris. He published his first illustrations in Rock & Folk magazine in the late 1970s, while he was still a student, and it was through this connection that he met Philippe Paringaux, who was to write several comic scripts for him that would be published in Métal Hurlant. Together, they created some dozen albums, including Barney et la Note bleue, Cœurs de sable, Kid Congo and Le Sang des voyous.

Loustal has also worked with other writers, such as Jérôme Charyn on Les Frères Adamov and White Sonya, Jean Luc Coatalem on Jolie mer de Chine and Rien de neuf à Fort Bongo, Dennis Lehane on Coronado and Tonino Benacquista on Les Amours insolentes, and also with Jean-Claude Götting, who wrote the scripts for Pigalle 62.27 and Black Dog. His most recent publications are Bijou, with Fred Bernard, Aux Antipodes and Peintures.

Alongside his activities as a comics creator, Loustal works as an advertising illustrator and regularly shows his paintings at the Huberty & Breyne gallery in Paris and Brussels. An avid traveller, he has published travel sketchbooks – Dessins d’ailleurs and Esprits d’ailleurs – with Éditions du Seuil and more recently La Table Ronde.

PRIVATE VIEW
Tuesday 10 October 2023, from 6.00 pm to 9.00 pm, in the presence of the artist

BOOK SIGNING
Saturday 14 October, from 5.00 pm to 7.00 pm

EXPHIBITION
From Wednesday 11 October 2023 to Saturday 4 November 2023

PARIS | Les Arts dessinés
19 rue Chapon, 75003 Paris
Tuesday > Saturday 1.30 pm – 7.00 pm