The talks and performances of the 18th edition
Curators, institutional directors and independent directors are invited to explore essential themes in the landscape of contemporary drawing and art in general. A privileged moment for the meeting of contemporary drawing professionals from all over the world, the fair gives the floor to speakers specialized in contemporary art around talks and artist interviews.
Thursday, March 27
Moderation: Guy Boyer (journalist and art critic)
Guests: Odonchimeg Davaadorj (visual artist), Andrea Busto (director of the Ettore Fico Museum)
Launch of the monographic book and talk by Odonchimeg Davaadorj who was a finalist for the Drawing Now Prize in 2020-21, then winner of the Art Absolutely Prize in 2021, among other grants, residencies and institutional consecrations. She has been a creative force on the rise since her first solo exhibition at the Backslash Gallery, which represents her, in 2019. His meeting with Andrea Busto during the group exhibition "Sogni" (2024, Ettore Fico Museum) led to the publication of his first monographic book.
Language: French
Resonant Connections: Echoes of a Collective Line is a participatory performance in which participants will join Mr. Lohrum in the creation of a drawing. The work explores the connections, vibrations and resonances established between individuals in a society. Through an immersive, meditative process, the lines drawn by some participants function as echoes of those of others, always adding a slight variation. The lines accumulate to form a final work in which the traces of each individual remain present in the whole, but are at the same time lost in a collective trace perceived as a unity.
Moderation: Claire Luna (independent curator and art critic)
Guests: AurelK, Mbaye Diop and Farah Khelil (visual artists)
On the occasion of the carte blanche sent by Drawing Now, Claire Luna invites three of the eight artists selected for her curatorial journey LIGHT LEAK, Dans la nuit que nous traversons. This meeting will compare their practice of drawing through the prism of light and photography as forces of resistance, and will allow us to deepen their approach as well as the specificities of their work.
Language: French
Most of Violaine Lochu's performances articulated around the voice are first conceived and written in the form of scores, following a graphic code specific to each of them. Her practice also includes drawing (excluding scores), which she develops from intimate experiences or encounters, and in which she uses writing as a plastic material. To respond to Drawing Now Paris' invitation to speak at the fair, Violaine Lochu proposes to perform two performances that would show for the first time this process of elaboration, shedding light on the links between writing, drawing, vocalization and interpretation that structure her work. Notions common to the graphic and vocal mediums – rhythm, interval, breathing, speed, repetition, etc. – will be summoned in the same movement.
Dom Bouffard will present the very first performance of a new work, "SoundDrawingPerformance #1". In this performance, the artist draws directly on a rough metal surface, using his body and various tools, while amplifying the sounds of his improvised gestures. While he creates the marks, the sounds are captured and processed by a specially developed algorithm (created in collaboration with London-based "soundmaker" Nick Burge), where they are randomized, brutalized, and replayed as a generative composition in physical space. This process pushes Bouffard's concept of sound drawing to a point where the visual and the sound unify in an immersive and increasingly intense feedback loop.
Friday, March 28
Moderation: Estelle Marois (independent curator and art critic)
Guest: Alice Maher (visual artist)
Alice Maher occupies a central place in the Irish artistic panorama. His work uses many media, giving his drawing an innovative and intimate character. She exhibits regularly in Ireland, England and the United States, having represented her native country at the 22nd São Paulo Biennial. A retrospective of his work, "Becoming", was presented at IMMA (Dublin) in 2012. Recently, she has exhibited at the Drawing Room (London), the MAC (Marseille) and the RHA, (Dublin).
Language: English
Moderation: Philippe Piguet (art critic and independent curator)
Invited: Claudine Grammont (Head of the Graphic Art Cabinet of the Centre Pompidou) and Nathalie Chaix (Director of the Jenish Museum, Vevey)
What is the role and place of contemporary drawing within an institutional and public collection, considering that current practices are broad and push the limits of the medium? How is drawing considered, shown, and acquired? Is there a redefinition of the medium's practices?
Language: French
Moderation: Joana P. R. Neves (Artistic Director and Independent Curator)
Guests: Didier Rittener (visual artist), Claire Le Restif (director of Crédac), Katharina Ammann (director of the Aargauer Kunsthaus) and Marianne Burki (independent curator and artistic director of TaDA, Textile and Design Alliance)
The latest book by Swiss artist Didier Rittener, "After, Because, Thanks to", draws on his corpus of about 700 drawings entitled "Libre de droits". He asked 44 authors to choose one and then write a "creative" notice. The speakers are part of this constellation of writers. Starting from the experience of producing a text that diverts the usual exercise of the notice and the commissioning of text, this exchange will explore how drawing can contribute here, and in general, to the emancipation of the artistic experience.
With the support of the Swiss Cultural Centre on tour.
Language: French
Saturday, March 29
Moderation: Joana P. R. Neves (Artistic Director and Independent Curator)
Invited: Claire Gilman (curator and head of the Acquavella department, modern and contemporary drawings)
Claire Gilman has dedicated herself to two institutions that are not only prestigious, but also place drawing at the center of their mission. Chief curator at the Drawing Centre (New York) until 2024, she is now curator and head of the Acquavella department, modern and contemporary drawings at the Morgan Library (New York). How did drawing inform his view of exhibitions and institutions? And what are the contrasts between the two institutions?
Language: English
Moderation: Carine Roma (Artistic Director Espace Jacques Villeglé)
Guest: Elene Usdin (visual artist)
A versatile artist with a fascinating background, Elene Usdin published her first comic book René.e aux bois dormants in 2021 (Éditions Sarbacane) which won the ACBD Grand Prix de la Critique, the Prix des Libraires du Québec and the Prix Artémisia. In 2022, she exhibited at the Galerie Barbier, the Comic Book Festival in Bastia, the Festival Étonnants Voyageurs in Saint-Malo, and the Royal Museum of Art and History in Brussels. In February and March 2025, Carine Roma welcomes her to the Espace Jacques Villeglé – Lieu d'art contemporain, where she holds her solo exhibition "Entrailles".
Language: French
Most of Violaine Lochu's performances articulated around the voice are first conceived and written in the form of scores, following a graphic code specific to each of them. Her practice also includes drawing (excluding scores), which she develops from intimate experiences or encounters, and in which she uses writing as a plastic material. To respond to Drawing Now Paris' invitation to speak at the fair, Violaine Lochu proposes to perform two performances that would show for the first time this process of elaboration, shedding light on the links between writing, drawing, vocalization and interpretation that structure her work. Notions common to the graphic and vocal mediums – rhythm, interval, breathing, speed, repetition, etc. – will be summoned in the same movement.
