8 x 2024

They could have called it ?2024, année apocalyptique? ? harking back to the song (?69, année érotique?) by that famous duo Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg ? but neither the rhythm nor the prophecy really fitted. So, Olivier Bron and Simon Liberman, co-founders of Éditions 2024, decided instead to call 2024 the year ?of great coincidence?. Fourteen years have gone into the making of a catalogue of rare quality and extraordinary coherence. And in celebration of that fact Bron and Liberman have been busy showcasing their books beyond the bookshops, in exhibitions hosted throughout France ? Strasbourg, Chaumont, Paris (Formula Bula), Saint-Malo, Colomiers...

The ?Mycélium?programme? is delighted to play its part in highlighting the achievements of the Strasbourg-based publishing house and will be showing more than 100 original artworks by 8 ?2024? artists ? Xavier Bouyssou, Étienne Chaize, Guillaume Chauchat, Sophie Gerrive, Donatien Mary, Saehan Parc, Jérémy Perrodeau and Clément Vuillier. Drawings, engravings, illustrations and comic-book panels in black and white and acid-bright direct colour ? a whole array of new and intriguing visions ? are waiting to be discovered at the Huberty & Breyne gallery?s Paris I Chapon venue from 24 August to 25 September... 2024, obviously!

Olivier Bron and Simon Liberman first met at the École Estienne, in Paris, and continued to study together at Strasbourg?s School of Decorative Arts. It was there that they discovered the joys of desktop publishing through their association with the Troglodyte and Belles Illustrations collectives. Experimenting with the different processes involved in creating a book, such as printing, serigraphy and page setting, they were simultaneously exposed to the pleasure of working in collaboration with others (Donatien Mary, Matthias Picard, Élisa Géhin, Benjamin Adam, Julia Wauters, Glen Chapron, Grégoire Carlé, etc.). While these projects came to a natural end with the conclusion of their studies, Bron and Liberman maintained their interest in the printing process, focusing it around a ?more serious? publishing project (even if it came into being on 1 April!) ? the creation, in 2010, of Éditions 2024. The choice of the year 2024 was a challenge to themselves, a goal ? neither too conservative nor too crazy ? to be reached, an appointment with the future when they would review their aims and their motivation. When asked about their choice of name, they announced that 2024 was ?the self-destruct year for publishing houses, for Planet Earth and for the system of contributory pension schemes?. Here we are in 2024 and we are able to say that they were completely wrong (about almost everything). In those 14 years, Éditions 2024 has proved itself a quality label offering readers the certitude of making sound choices in the crazy chaos of bookshop shelves.

While Bron and Liberman have published virtually double the number of titles initially predicted (they envisaged 56 titles by 2024 and will be publishing their 100th this year), they cannot in any sense be accused of over-production. With 12 books a year since 2019, the duo have always opted for quality over quantity. And with 5 fauves at Angoulême, 7 Bologna Ragazzi Awards, 2 Eisner Awards, and 1 Prix Goscinny, Éditions 2024 has rapidly made its mark on the publishing world. Artists in their own right, with wide-ranging interests, Bron and Liberman only publish books they themselves enjoy reading and which set them production challenges. According to Chris Ware, ?the format of a book is as important a factor as the manner in which food is presented or a person is dressed?. The pleasure of a book resides first and foremost in its physicality and Éditions 2024 reflects this idea. Bron and Liberman work closely with their printers, exploring the technical possibilities, and limitations, of book creation, focusing their attention on binding, finishing, covers and paper. Their past experience of desktop publishing and the opportunities it offered for an artisanal approach shaped their relationship with the book, which became the tangible embodiment of intangible artistic aspirations. 2024 books represent the fusion of the artistic and the artisanal. And to keep pace with material challenges Bron and Liberman have surrounded themselves with talented artists. Their editorial line is self-evident and simultaneously difficult to define. ?Adventure, fiction and humour? is how they have been known to sum it up. But there is more to it than that: after all, a line does not define itself: it evolves. Theirs develops from title to title, branching out, causing narrative arcs to intersect, setting up resonances (L?Année de la comète by Clément Vuillier and Éther by Étienne Chaize) and linking artistic projects (Boule de feu, a collaborative project that blends the imaginative worlds of Étienne Chaize and Anouk Ricard?s zoomorphic characters). Being a publisher at 2024 is a bit like being a conductor, assembling and directing one?s ?orchestra? of contemporary pieces in the most harmonious fashion possible. It also involves republishing the classics ? Gustave Doré and Garrett Price, for example ? and creating the 4048 collection, dedicated to children?s books, in response to artistic demand. Fearlessly embracing the ?out-of-the-ordinary? and the ?difficult to classify?. And working with the creative genius of a range of artists whose graphic impact is equally evident within the pages of a book as displayed on these gallery walls.

Soft launch
Tea?/?Children?s colouring session
Saturday 24 August, from 1.30 pm

Reception / Signing session
Saturday 31 August, from 4.00 pm

Evening reception / Signing session
Thursday 5 September, from 5.00 pm

Exhibition
From 24 August to 25 September 2024

PARIS | Chapon
19 - 21 Rue Chapon 75003 Paris
Wednesday > Saturday 1.30 pm?7.00 pm